DIY Guide to Magistrates Court
New downloadable document details what goes on when you make a court appearance for motoring offences
For many people their only brush with the law will come about as result of driving or riding on the roads. The latest Government figures (Census 2001) show that the total number of motoring offences dealt with in 2000 was 10 million, and that just over a fifth of these (2.1 million) resulted in court proceedings.
If you have never been up before the Bench before it is a scary experience, but it is one that most motorists undertake alone. “It’s a simple fact that the majority of defendants charged with motoring offences represent themselves in the Magistrates Court, so we thought we would put together a simple DIY Guide for them ” explains Martin Davies, the solicitor behind the Road Law website.
The guide has been co-written by Martin, a former criminal law specialist himself, and practising criminal law solicitor Andrew Palazzo from McCormacks in London, and tries to cover all the questions that errant motorists may have before they have their day in court.
It starts with looking at possible “get-outs” that all defendants should check, and then goes on to cover pleading guilty by post; adjourning the hearing; preparing for court; appearing in court; and what happens when it is all over. “We can’t turn ordinary people into lawyers, but we can at least tell them what to expect and what sorts of things they should be saying (and, sometimes more importantly, not saying) to the court, so that at least they give themselves every chance of getting a good result on the day ”, says Martin.
The Guide costs £7.50, which can be paid online via BT’s click&buy system. The reader can then access the information both online and also as a Word document download.
| Quick Review |
I've read the guide provided by Road Law and even if you'd not intending to fight a case, it's a refreshingly simple guide to the procedures that must be gone through when attending court. There's good advice about what to do and how to behave when appearing in court as well as tips on the best policy when trying to minimise any bans etc - even how to apologise to the magistrates and make a difference! Court proceedings and the people involved are covered, explaining the role of each person and the dealings you'll have with them. A well written guide that could take much of the worry out of a court appearance. |
Link : www.road-law.co.uk
That is totally disgusting. If it were dangerous driving or racing on a public highway, I would gladly accept that, but 44% loading for automated tickets from a Gatso is pure greed. 44% is not a calculation in relation to risk, which is what we are asking our insurers to evaluate, it is merely an excuse for them to fleece the overburdoned motorist.
Over the 5 year insurance notification window, that equates to over £1500 in extra motoring cost, which in my opinion, is extortion. Bear in mind that these figures relate to a standard car with a value of £12,000 so you can imagine what the figures would be like when compared to a performance car.
No wonder why uninsured drivers are on the increase. This in turn leads to higher premiums, which we pay like the sheep that we are.
I'm thinking that personal injury claims are the reason that they look to load the premium at any hint of an excuse....
say i had an accident with mr doe and it was my fault. if mr doe claimed personal injury against me HE would lose his NPICB, i would keep mine because i wasn't claiming personal injury but i would lose my NCB because the accident was my fault.
therefore mr doe would only claim if he was really injured as if he claimed regardless he would risk paying a higher premium.
hope that makes sense!
The Saint said:
That would be an interesting system but then you'd be persecuting, a genuine, party for being injured in an accident that wasn't their fault. So, yes they receive compensation for the injury but then have to pay higher premiums themselves.
it would make the claiming party weight up if there injury was really worth claiming.
examples:
if i had minor back pains after an accident i may get £300 but my insurance premium would rise £500 so it wouldn't be worth my while. and in my opinion people shouldn't be claiming for these types of injures because at the end of the day this kind of stuff happens.
if however, i lost the use of an arm or leg an got £1M then it suddenly is worth claiming even though the premium would rise.
>> Edited by tim_s on Friday 23 April 15:18
tim_s said:
...and in my opinion people shouldn't be claiming for these types of injures because at the end of the day this kind of stuff happens....
No, no, no! "Where there's blame there's a claim"! Nothing happens without someone being responsible, and therefore sue-able. No idea that goes against this basic human right will get anywhere.
tim_s said:
That would be an interesting system but then you'd be persecuting, a genuine, party for being injured in an accident that wasn't their fault. So, yes they receive compensation for the injury but then have to pay higher premiums themselves.
it would make the claiming party weight up if there injury was really worth claiming.
if however, i lost the use of an arm or leg an got £1M then it suddenly is worth claiming even though the premium would rise.
True, but it wouldn't matter because the rise in premium would be insignificant compared to the pay out
We'd welcome any comments - good or bad on the Guide, so that we can develop it even further.
Cheers
www.road-law.co.uk
Peter Ward said:
...and in my opinion people shouldn't be claiming for these types of injures because at the end of the day this kind of stuff happens....
No, no, no! "Where there's blame there's a claim"! Nothing happens without someone being responsible, and therefore sue-able. No idea that goes against this basic human right will get anywhere.
"Where there's blame there's a claim"! - Have you used this line in one of your no-win no fee adverts?
Do i ask myself questions?
I'm up for failing to provide the name of the driver on a day when my wife and I shared driving and changed drivers just before or just after pasing a camera (in daylight so no flash to tellus something had happened).
My wife wants to make a statement too - or maybe be there . (not sure if she'd be led astray in cross examining though - to say whatever they want her too.
SO wil this guide help?
If not where cna I get a straightforward guide to case preparation , court procedures and requirements for defending in the magistrates court?
briandavison said:
Back to the guide. Does it cover the procedures for defending yourself? Like if I need to submit evidence in advance in order to produce it on the day, if I need to notify witnesses etc? when to be in the dock, when at a desk and when in the witness box?
Do i ask myself questions?
I'm up for failing to provide the name of the driver on a day when my wife and I shared driving and changed drivers just before or just after pasing a camera (in daylight so no flash to tellus something had happened).
My wife wants to make a statement too - or maybe be there . (not sure if she'd be led astray in cross examining though - to say whatever they want her too.
SO wil this guide help?
If not where cna I get a straightforward guide to case preparation , court procedures and requirements for defending in the magistrates court?
See www.pepipoo.com
BTW welcome to PH
Dwight VanDriver said:
Feed in a search under the key words "Magistrates Court procedure" or "CPS Court Procedure"
This will raise various items that should help.
dvd
I concur. There is a lot of good information on the net already.
Another much overlooked point is to telephone the court itself and ask to speak to one of the clerks of the court. These people are legally trained and in fact there to make sure that the court proceedings continue in a legal way. This includes if the defendant is representing themselves, to ensure that they are aware of the correct proceedure.
In the past I have found that *some* of the court clerks I have spoken to we more than happy to talk about my case for half an hour or more in the interest of fairness and to be honest (as one said to me) that they were quite happy to conduct proceedings and assist an interesting case where someone was willing to defend themselves!
So in conclusion, if you feel you have a reasonably simple case and cannot afford a solicitor, the clerks of the court will be good people to run your ideas of how to present your case to the court and how the proceedings should continue.
Note: Do not talk about any potential case issues as to how to present your case to the CPS, they are there to generally delay and give you least chance of presenting your case in a fair way by getting angry when you politely ask for case documents to be released.
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