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Exceptional Hardship in Mansfield Magistrates Court

Posted on: September 24th, 2015 by steve

At Mansfield Magistrates’ Court this week, Etta Reynolds was delighted to avoid the automatic 6 month disqualification from driving that would have been the lawful consequence of her ‘totting up’ to 12 penalty points, had her Exceptional Hardship application not been successful.

She thanked Steve Williams, principal of Forrest Williams, and a leading criminal solicitor recognised in the prestigious Legal 500, and told him how the court’s recognition of her need to maintain her driving licence would mean that she could continue her work as a professional musician – a singer working in collaboration with a six piece band.

Etta had feared that a disqualification would impact not just on herself, but on all the people she worked with. She was well aware that the other band members relied on her not only to stand up front and lead their musical act, but also as one of only two possible drivers.

There was not, she explained to the court, the finances within the band’s earnings to pay for a driver, should she be disqualified. In addition, given the fickle nature of the profession she worked within, Etta knew that to not be involved in gigging for a period of 6 months would mean a great struggle to re-establish herself – if this was even possible.

There were also, Steve Williams explained to the court, personal reasons for Etta’s Exceptional Hardship application. Etta, a single parent with a young child, had child care and other costs to meet, which she would struggle to do if she was not earning.

In short, like so many of the clients who approach Forrest Williams for help, Etta’s main concerns were not for herself, but for those who would be adversely affected by her disqualification.

The court recognised these concerns and allowed Etta to keep her driving licence.

Another satisfied client who told us she would happily recommend us to other people – not least because of the level of support she had received throughout her case from her caseworker, Tracy Johnson, her advocate Steve Williams and all the friendly staff in the Forrest Williams office. Exceptional Hardship in Mansfield Magistrates Court is our speciality – get the experts on side.

Forrest Williams are Mansfield’s only criminal law firm recognised in the prestigious Legal 500 rankings of leading law firm. To get the local experts on your case, contact us now on 01623 397200.

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Exceptional Hardship Solicitors at Mansfield Magistrates Court

Posted on: September 18th, 2015 by steve

Mansfield Exceptional Hardship Solicitors

Exceptional hardship applications for Nottingham are normally heard in Mansfield Magistrates.

They are so busy with them now that they have 2 days a week dedicated to motoring matters.

As Mansfield’s only specialist motoring solicitors we are in court most weeks for exceptional hardship applications.

If you reach 12 points then the court will have to disqualify you for 6 months unless you can show them that you or others will suffer from exceptional hardship.

Exceptional hardship is not defined by the court, it will often include loss of a job but this in itself is not enough. You will also have to show them that as a result of losing your job you will suffer more than normal hardship.

Can I do this myself?

You can but these cases are not easy. You will have to give evidence in support of your application, you will be cross examined by the prosecutor and you may be questioned by the court. You will have to make sure your application is water tight. We have seen many applications lost because someone said the wrong thing or did not explain the position properly.

Can’t I just get a local Legal Aid Solicitor to act for me?

You can, you won’t get Legal Aid, it is not available for this type of case. We know that a few local Legal Aid solicitors are now trying to move into motoring law as a result of Legal Aid cuts. We are the only specialist motoring law firm in Mansfield. No one has our experience in these matters. You will definitely get a cheaper job from the Legal Aid lawyers and if your only concern is price then we aren’t the firm for you. If your licence is important to you and you don’t want to risk it to a Legal Aid lawyer who will fit you in in between their druggy, shoplifting clients then we can show you the difference in our service.

Are we worth our fees?

Well of course we are going to say yes but don’t just take our word for it. We have won awards for our client care, locally with the Mansfield 2020 Award Winners and Nationally. We have just been recommended by the Legal 500 criminal solicitors – the definitive guide to lawyers reputations. We were one of only 4 firms recommended in the whole of the East Midlands in our category – this covers from Lincoln, to Northampton including Nottingham, Derby and Leicester. We were the only firm in Mansfield recommended in this category.

But ultimately what you want to know is do we win?

Our principal Steve Williams has been appearing in Mansfield Magistrates Court doing these applications for 20 years…. He has never lost one yet! We want to maintain that record so we won’t just take on any case, we will give you a free assessment and if we believe you have a strong case we will take it on.

We have a unique way of defending these matters, we have a 37 point checklist to ensure we build the strongest application. Your case will be prepared by one of our trained paralegals and will then be reviewed vigorously by one of their colleagues to pick holes in it. It will be refined constantly. Eventually when the team are happy with it they will present it to Steve Williams who will assess it for it’s strength and then talk to you about the case. He tries to do everyone of these cases personally and will meet with you at court to go through it face to face before the hearing.

If your licence is important to you or your family then call us for a free, honest appraisal of your case.

CALL US 24 HOURS ON 01623 397200

When Am I Eligible To Be Offered A Speed Awareness Course?

Posted on: August 28th, 2015 by steve

When am I eligible to be offered a Speed Awareness Course (SAC)?

We are often contacted by people who have been caught speeding and want to know if we are able to arrange for them to attend a Speed Awareness Course. Most people are aware that these courses exist and the benefit of attending (no points and no conviction registered against them) but are unclear on the criteria under which these are offered.

The theory behind the course is that rehabilitation and re-education of the offender is more effective in reducing the likelihood of reoffending as opposed to simply imposing penalty points. Financially the course cost is roughly identical to that of the fixed penalty notice so there is little benefit or loss.

The criteria under which the course is offered varies slightly between forces. If you are eligible to attend a Speed Awareness Course you will be notified by the police.

The following are the guidelines operated by one police force (North Yorkshire but when checked Nottinghamshire and Dorset Police used the same speed guidelines):

You have admitted to being the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence and returned the documentation within the 28 day period calculated from the date the notice was sent to you.
No more than 12 weeks have elapsed since the date of the alleged offence.
There were no further offences committed at the time of the alleged offence.
You have not attended a speed awareness course within the 3 years prior to the current offence.
You were driving at a speed which qualifies as per the table below.

Limit	Maximum speed at which SAC offered	Fixed Penalty Offered	Summons to court
20	31	21-30	31+
30	42	31-40	41+
40	53	41-55	56+
50	64	51-65	66+
60	75	61-80	81+
70	86	71-90	91+

So as you can see a Fixed Penalty Offer and the Speed Awareness Course are not always interchangeable. And the option to offer the course always remains with the Police force itself, it cannot be demanded.

You will only need specialist motoring law advice if your case is, or will be, referred to Court. If that happens, give the Forrest Williams team a call on 01623 397200.

Motoring Advice Blog

Exceptional Hardship in Mansfield Magistrates Court

Exceptional Hardship Solicitors at Mansfield Magistrates Court

When Am I Eligible To Be Offered A Speed Awareness Course?

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