Why You Should Be Honest With Your Lawyer
We have today represented Mike who appeared before Derby Magistrates Court following an application to re-open his case.
In our initial consultation, Mike informed us that he had mistakenly attended a hearing one day late for failing to notify driver’s details and had been convicted in his absence. Having already received 9 points on his licence through previous motoring offences, this additional offence meant that he would receive a further 6 points meaning that he would be disqualified under the “totting provisions.”
If a driver reaches 12 points or more in a 3 year period, the Court guidelines are that an automatic disqualification of 6 months should be imposed. This ban can be avoided if you can successfully argue an Exceptional Hardship application. However, you cannot put forward a second Exceptional Hardship argument using the same grounds within a 3 year period.
Mike was advised by the court to apply to re-open this matter which he did. It was at this stage that he contacted us to represent him and make an Exceptional Hardship application in order that he be allowed to keep his licence.
We received a court date for him to re-open his case and fully prepared his case for an Exceptional Hardship application. One of our most trusted Barristers attended to conduct the hearing on the day and, while we can never guarantee the outcome of a case as the decision rests with the court, we were confident that Mike had a strong case and would win his application.
The hearing was brought on in court and the application was made. The Barrister felt that the Magistrates were on the brink of allowing the application before they retired to consider their decision. It was at this time that the Legal Advisor made further enquiries and it was discovered that Mike had previously ran an Exceptional Hardship Application in March 2015 which had been successful.
This meant that he could not put forward another Exceptional Hardship argument using the same reasons within 3 years. His application was, therefore, disallowed and he was disqualified from driving and ordered to pay a financial penalty.
Here at Forrest Williams we conduct numerous successful Exceptional Hardship applications and will always put forward the strongest application possible for you following weeks of preparation. However, we can only work with the information which you provide to us. Unfortunately, despite being asked extensive questions about his driving record, Mike chose not to tell us about his previous Exceptional Hardship application.
If he had told us in his initial consultation that an Exceptional Hardship Argument had already been put forward and allowed by the court within the last 3 years, we would have either been able to save him the unnecessary expenditure of both time and money, or built a case focused on grounds that he had not used in the previous application.
This case highlights how important it is to be honest with your lawyers. We are on your side, and we can only assist you if you are open with us.
If you are looking for a specialist and passionate legal team who will fight for your best interests, call us now on 01623 397200.
