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Archive for the ‘Speeding’ Category

Motoring Lawyer in Nottingham Magistrates Court

Motoring Lawyer in Nottingham Magistrates Court

 

Following a hearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court this week, David Renwick thanked motoring lawyer Steve Williams of Forrest Williams Legal Ltd for the forceful mitigation which persuaded the District Judge to award 6 penalty points instead of imposing a disqualification for his speeding offence.

 

David, who works for a dealership in the city which sells high-performance cars, had stressed to Steve during the preparation of his case that losing his driving licence, even for a short period of time, would create great difficulties as his job means he has to take customers out on test drives every working day.

 

Motoring lawyer Steve Williams had advised David that the magistrates’ sentencing guidelines indicate that the speeding offence in question – 55mph in a 30mph limit – would likely be punishable by way of a disqualification within the range 7-56 days and that this was the outcome he should prepare himself for. The anticipated penalty for this speed, as well as a fine and other court costs, would be a disqualification of around 28 days.

 

However, our motoring lawyer assured David that it is sometimes possible, and especially so when a case has been professionally prepared and conducted in court, to persuade the Magistrates or District Judge to take into account the full background to the case and be more lenient when sentencing.

 

Steve realised that the bald facts of the speeding offence looked grim. He knew the court would take the third category speeding offence very seriously, and therefore be inclined to sentence David harshly in line with the sentencing powers laid down in the guidelines.

 

It would not be easy, Steve knew, but with more than 25 years’ experience working within the criminal justice system, he also knew exactly how best to prepare the case for court, what to say and just how to say it.

 

It is this level of experience and expertise, gained as a result of representing a great many clients charged with speeding offences, which sets Steve apart as a motoring lawyer and results in people calling our office and asking for him by name – not just for local court hearings, but for cases being heard in courts across the whole of England and Wales.

 

Steve took the time to discuss the full background with David and then, on the day of the hearing, made the court aware of the facts. On the date in question, David had been out on a test drive with a customer and was driving along a familiar road.

 

However, the speeding offence did not occur as a result of a blatant disregard for the legal requirement to drive at or below 30mph (as the court might otherwise have assumed), but because David was driving a new, turbo-charged high-performance vehicle that he was unfamiliar with. David told us that he tapped the accelerator and the car very quickly reached the speed recorded before he could apply the brake to slow the car down.

 

Whilst David accepted liability for the speeding offence, and pleaded guilty to it, he said it was important that the court understand he was not a ‘boy racer’ and that, in fact, he relied on maintaining his driving licence in order to do the job he had enjoyed doing for the last 20 years.

 

In addition, David told us he had held his driving licence for around 30 years and that it was clean, without any endorsements in the last several years.

 

Only by listening carefully to David’s story was our motoring lawyer, Steve Williams, able to first formulate a plan for the careful preparation of his case for court, and then conduct the mitigation of his case in a knowledgeable and persuasive way. David told us he was delighted with the outcome.

 

If you have been charged with a speeding offence and fear you may be disqualified from driving, call our office today on 01623 397200 for free, initial advice.

 

Speeding Solicitor in Chesterfield Magistrates Court

 

 

 

Speeding Solicitor in Chesterfield Magistrates Court

 

Speeding Solicitor in Chesterfield Magistrates Court this week, representing Dennis Cosgrove.  He was elated when the District Judge passed sentence and he was informed that 6 points would be endorsed to his clean licence.

 

Dennis has been summoned to appear in court to answer a Speeding charge – 104mph in a 70mph limit.

 

He told us when he first called into our office that he had not realised the speed he was doing at the time, and that – unusually for him – he had not been using the cruise control facility for his vehicle.

 

Dennis explained to us that the car he was driving at the time was very powerful and said that he admitted the speeding offence. In his conversations with us, he made clear that he felt very remorseful about the incident and that he wanted to apologise to the court and promise it would never happen again.

 

As a result of a thoroughly prepared case, and strong mitigation by his professional legal advocate in court, Dennis managed to avoid the more likely fixed-term disqualification. This was very important to him as he works as a Financial Adviser, which means he has to travel across a large geographical area in order to meet with his clients.

 

In addition, Dennis shared with us that he does a lot of charity work with elderly people, for which he also makes good use of his driving licence.

 

Dennis told his case worker that he does around 20,000 miles a year and that even a short disqualification within the range 7 – 56 days (as indicated by the magistrates’ sentencing guidelines) would be a great hardship to him, and that many other people would be adversely affected by his inability to drive.

 

As part of the mitigation advanced by Dennis’s legal advocate, mention was made of the fact that Dennis has maintained a clean driving licence for at least the last 5 years, that he had held a driving licence for more than 40 years in total, that the weather had been good on the date of the speeding offence, the motorway not busy with other vehicles and that he had no passengers.

 

Dennis’s good character and charitable activities were also highlighted – but in a way which it would be difficult for a defendant to do for themselves in court, as our services can ensure a professional distance is maintained and therefore a degree of objectivity.

 

As the court systems and processes are essentially evidence-based, Dennis was also guided carefully by his dedicated case worker through the preparation, review and editing of several supporting documents, which he then took with him to the court hearing.

 

For Dennis, the outcome was the best he could have hoped for in the circumstances. He had admitted the offence, apologised to the court and thrown himself on the mercy of the District Judge. However, even in so doing there were sentencing options at the court’s disposal. We were happy to assist Dennis in achieving a result he was satisfied with. 

 

If you need a Speeding Solicitor in Chesterfield Magistrates Court, call our expert speeding solicitors on 01623 397200. 

 

Speeding Solicitors Mansfield

speeding solicitors Mansfield

 

Speeding Solicitors Mansfield

 

Are you looking for speeding solicitors Mansfield?

 

Our expert team are here to help.

 

We are the only specialist speeding solicitors Mansfield, and have extensive knowledge of all speeding matters.

 

Whether you plan to plead guilty to the offence and mitigate to have the penalty reduced, or have a defence, we are the experts you need on your side. 

 

If you are convicted of a speeding offence at Court, you will face either penalty points of a driving disqualification.  If this offence causes you to reach 12 points or more, you will fall to be disqualified for 6 months under the totting up provisions.  We can help you avoid this ban by arguing Exceptional Hardship.

 

You may, however, have a defence to the speeding charge, and speeding solicitors Mansfield are experts in exploring, identifying and preparing these cases.

 

Defences can include:

 

  • Factual defences such as:
    • I was not the driver
    • I was the driver but was not speeding
    • I was speeding because of an emergency situation
  • Technical defences such as:
    • The procedure was not followed correctly
    • The evidence against me is unreliable, perhaps due to machinery not being calibrated correctly

 

We have vast experience in all aspects of this type of law, and can guide you through your options.  Speeding solicitors Mansfield are committed to presenting you with your options and then guiding you towards the best choice for you and your circumstances.  We understand that every case, and every client, is unique and we will never pressure you into proceeding in a way that is not right for you.

 

Our award winning team are local to Mansfield and are the only local firm to be recognised in the prestigious Legal 500 directory of the leading law firms in the UK. 

 

If you need speeding solicitors Mansfield, call us now on 01623 397200.

 

 

 

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