Help with court summons !!

666bxg

hi all

just been given a court summons for a speeding offence i comitted last year. was doing 63 on a 50 zone, which was completely my mistake as i missed seeing the speed zone

the reason why it came up to the court was i tried paying the fine immediately when it was received, but was rejected as i had a foreign licence (!). to cut the story short, after 3 rejected payments and going to the store traffic fines office twice, the 56 days did elapse....

i still can prove the above with returned payments and correspondence etc

the questions are:

will the judge go easy one me?

i now have an irish provisional licence, will the points be applied to this licence? 2 0r 4 points?

how can i prepare myself for the court appearance?

many thanks in advance

golden

Talk to a solicitor.

BeardyGit

Go to court, show the returned payments.


Be there on time, speak with the prosecuting Garda and explain what's happened (I can't stress this enough), dress well (smart, like at a job interview), and explain to the court that you made an 'honest' mistake in speeding, and that you tried paying the fine several times within the time period where the points allocated would have been limited to two.

One way or the other, the points will be awarded - Like it or not, you were speeding and your court appearance will be the judgement day as such. Don't try to fight that part....There's no point in trying it, as the court will bite back if you push.

Politely explain that the only reason you're in court and facing 4 points and a fine is because our system wouldn't allow you pay the fine without an Irish license to stick the points on. Tell them that after you had the payment returned a couple of times, you decided to get an Irish license which of course took time, and that by then, it was too late to pay it and that you were told you'd have to wait for the court date.....

Do that, and you'll be fine.

Don't sweat it. And don't speed again.

BeardyGit

golden wrote:

Talk to a solicitor.

Don't bother. Save it for the fine. Solicitors are a waste of time, effort and money for a simple thing like a speeding offence. If you're a decent type of skin and you don't have a record for traffic offences, there's nothing to worry about.

On the other hand, if you plan on chugging 10 johnny blues outside the court house before strolling in wearing a tracksuit and a baseball cap, lounging on the back bench and mouthing 'pigs' at the Garda seating, perhaps you should do like the other filth and hire a solicitor to protect your liberty....

llester

666bxg wrote:

hi all

just been given a court summons for a speeding offence i comitted last year. was doing 63 on a 50 zone, which was completely my mistake as i missed seeing the speed zone

the reason why it came up to the court was i tried paying the fine immediately when it was received, but was rejected as i had a foreign licence (!). to cut the story short, after 3 rejected payments and going to the store traffic fines office twice, the 56 days did elapse....

i still can prove the above with returned payments and correspondence etc

the questions are:

will the judge go easy one me?

i now have an irish provisional licence, will the points be applied to this licence? 2 0r 4 points?

how can i prepare myself for the court appearance?

many thanks in advance

Hiya...first of all don't stress. When you go to Court you'll see a million people in the same boat.

I don't know how the judge will apply the points, the fact that you now have an Irish Licence, I would imagine he'll slap them on that.

What I reckon you should do is:-

1. Gather the documents together showing your previous attempted payments and have them ready for the Court date.
2. Bring your foreign licence and your new licence to the Court.
3. When you go to the Court, keep an ear out for your name to be called.
4. The judge will ask the Garda to go through the offence, which the Garda will read out.
5. The judge will then turn to you and ask you whether you accept or reject what the judge has said. You answer and try and fit in about trying to pay the fine. The judge may want to listen, s/he may not....you'll just have to try on the day.
6. Only answer what you're being asked...do not interrupt the judge or the garda.
7. The Judge will order that you pay x amount fine.

You'll be surprised how laid back it all is, but be courteous to the Judge, dress respectably and you'll be fine.

I'm going on the basis of cases I've acted in before. You might want to talk to your own solicitor about the licence issue though.