Page 1 of Important Legal Question

Afternoon everyone

You may or may not remember I posted a couple of months back about my brother being charged with leaving the scene of an accident (it`s here if you want to read the specifics)

Well, this morning he received a court summons and has been told he (or his solicitor) must appear! :o

He is to be charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident (one for not exchanging details and one for not reporting it) and a charge of public indecencey (or something similarly worded) for giving the finger as he drove off.

Now here is the question. He knows he is guilty and is quite prepared to plead this but should he seek legal advise anyway before he goes to court? Or is it just a formality ie he says he is guilty and the judge decides the sentence?

Another thing, will it be a proper court room like you see on TV? I know there is unlikely to be jurors, but will he stand in a dock in front of a judge in his gown and all that, or is it all done just sitting around a table?

Answers to this as well as any other advise is, as always, greatly appreciated.

If hes going to magistrates court he will just be stood in basically a big office in front of three people in suits. Still s*** your pants scary but slightly less intimidating than being stared down by an alcoholic old peadophile in a big grey wig.

If he has a solicitor then he should seek advice from him/her - CAB might be able to help give an idea of the likely punishment. If he goes to court, as nickthegun said, it will be a Magistrates who will sentence him if he pleads guilty and refer the case to a Crown court (judge and jury etc) where he will have a full trial.

Hope this helps.

Wossname, do you mean if he pleads not guilty it goes to Crown court?

He has just rang the magistrates advice line. Apparently he could face 5-10 points on his license or an immediate ban and a fine up to £5000!

He has also just told me that his license has got the wrong address on it, so lets just hope they don`t need to see that as well!

Yes, just realised I had missed out the "not". If he pleads not guilty it will go to Crown court and a heavier sentence is likely if convicted; a guilty plea will lead to immediate sentencing.

Hiya, I would like to add a few things here.
I have had the unfortunate experience of being in a magistrates court 3 times last year (on both sides of the system), and you can expect them to be like a mini courtroom that you would see on TV. But you will have to stand in the `dock` and face a magistrate(s).

If a plea of not guitly is entered then they will set a date for you to reappear at the magistrates for a trial at a later date. If you plead guilty, they will give you the opportunity to explain why you did this, and explain any special circumstances. The magistrate will then leave the room and go to their chambers and have a think about the sentance they will give you. A lot depends on the individual magistrate, and what kind of day they are having.

I was facing a certain ban for being caught doing 92 in a 50 zone, but got off with points and a fiine... its just down to luck, and how they feel at that point in time.

You can call the court and ask to speak to the clerk of the court. These people REALLY know their stuff, and helped me a lot... probably stopped me getting banned.

Hope this helps.

Cheers for that Mr Winky (great name!)

Does the Clerk of the Court offer advise to people on their specific charge, or do they just offer general advice; mind your p and q`s, dress smartly etc.

Also, do you remember if they asked to see your license at the time?

..sorry, one other thing.

If he is gonna plead guilty, then there is not a great deal a lawyer can do to help. But if pleading not guilty, then they are priceless.

The court appointed lawyers for the prosection are, in my experience, idiots. When you hire a lawyer they will always do a much better job then the prosection, and often make them look incompetant.

Good luck.

You MUST take your documents to court, often they ask for them to be there a week before the trial date.

The clerk was always able to talk about my case, once it was explained to them, and offer sound advice on the likely outcome and sentance.... they do this every day, whereas the magistrates have other jobs and only act as magistrates a few times a week!

If he is pleading guilty, he should well rehearse his reasons for leaving the scene of the accident, emphasis he knows he has been an idiot, and shows a lot of remorse for his actions.

I would have thought this might help limit the sentence a bit. :)

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