Appealing Conviction

jabroni

I recently found out that I have a drug conviction. I was in court a year ago for possesion of a tiny amount of cannabis.( bout 5 euro worth). I showed up on the date of my summons but was then told to come back another date.

When i showed up on this date I was told I should have been there the day before( not the date I was told) but not to worry it was only a 60 euro fine. So i paid this fine thinking it was not a big deal. However I recently only found out this means I have a criminal conviction and cant go to America.

I know this is incredibly stupid and I should have known and appealed straight away but I had never been to court or anything before and thought paying the fine meant I didn't get a conviction. I had my final year exams at this time was was stressed out loads with that and was just glad to get the court ordeal over with.

Anyway I was wondering if there is any way for me to appeal this now or is it too late? For such a small amount I have been told that I should have been given the probation act but clearly the judge dealt harshly with me in my absence.

Any advice would be very much appreciated

dazza21ie

Some judges would probably have given you the benefit of the doubt if it was your first offence with the probation act if you had turned up. Too late to do anything about it now though

coylemj

It's possible to apply for an extension to the time limit for lodging an appeal. You'd really need to consult a solicitor as a lay person would probably meet a brick wall attempting it. If successful, you would be allowed to lodge an appeal which would be heard in the Circuit Court, this takes the form of a full rehearing of the District Court case so the original Garda would be asked to come in and restate his/her evidence, you would then be able to put up a defence. However I suspect your 'defence' will simply be to offer a donation to the poor box because by the sounds of it, you don't really have a defence, only that you don't like having a conviction.

You came a cropper by not engaging a solicitor the first time around, posting on an internet forum for free advice suggests you've learned nothing from the experience.

dazza21ie

You need to have formed the intention that you were going to appeal during the time permitted to be granted an extension of time to appeal. Would be a real long shot at this stage

dazza21ie

You need to have formed the intention that you were going to appeal during the time permitted to be granted an extension of time to appeal. Would be a real long shot at this stage

evolving_doors

coylemj wrote: »

It's possible to apply for an extension to the time limit for lodging an appeal. You'd really need to consult a solicitor as a lay person would probably meet a brick wall attempting it. If successful, you would be allowed to lodge an appeal which would be heard in the Circuit Court, this takes the form of a full rehearing of the District Court case so the original Garda would be asked to come in and restate his/her evidence, you would then be able to put up a defence. However I suspect your 'defence' will simply be to offer a donation to the poor box because by the sounds of it, you don't really have a defence, only that you don't like having a conviction.

You came a cropper by not engaging a solicitor the first time around, posting on an internet forum for free advice suggests you've learned nothing from the experience.

Your second paragraph suggests that your first paragraph (by offering "free" advice ) means you havnt learned from his or your experience also.