I was watching cases in a magistrate's court last week from the public gallery and a German guy was on trial for speeding. The chief magistrate called him up to the stand and asked him, "What is your name?" but the German guy just looked at him blankly and replied, "No English." "Does anyone here speak German?" the magistrate asked, so I put up my hand. "OK, come down here and translate, please - translate what I say - 'What is your name and where are you from?'" I shouted: "Vot is your name and vere are you from?" I got a £50 fine and banned from the courthouse
Worked for me when a police motorcyclist pulled me over in central London for doing 60-plus in a 30 on my Jota. But it was 1981. I avoided the dangerous driving charge "It was dry ... No traffic ... Concentrating on the road. " blah blah. £50 fine and three points for speeding. Don't think it'd cut any ice now though, I'd probably get a ban purely for the speeding. Worth a try though.
Interesting stuff, and the "recommendations" here bare very little resemblance to the penalties ive been awarded by Magistrates in the past which goes to show how often they read the guidelines themselves. However, I really wouldnt fancy standing up in court and telling a Magistrate "hang on matey, your guidelines say you should only give me 3 points, not 10"
If you are addressing the Mags on sentencing options, you would not start off by telling them they are getting it all wrong, obviously. But it is legitimate to mention the guideline entry point for the offence for which you are to be sentenced, and then (if you are arguing that the sentence in your case should be below the entry point) set out your relevant mitigating facts, being careful to avoid trying their patience with irrelevant matters. If the prosecution has alleged any matters which would be aggravating factors, you might be able to deny, dispute, or explain them - if you have some reasonable basis for doing so. If you are going to claim or allege various things, you should be prepared to substantiate what you say with letters, bank statements, photographs, pay slips, or whatever; if you allege something without any supporting evidence at all, they may simply not believe you. Some of the stories we hear may have background facts which are not mentioned. For example the offender may have told an implausible tale in court without substantiation, the Mags may have decided he is lying to them, and the heavier sentence reflected this.
By the way, Magistrates Court proceedings are not recorded and there is no transcription of what is said, unlike the higher courts. Keep your own note of everything everyone says, especially the Magistrates, in as much detail as you can manage, and write it up afterwards. If you wanted to appeal to the Crown Court, or complain about a Magistrate, it would be hard to do so if you have no record except your memory.
by the balls ... and of course no one on here has done more than 110mph on a public road ... I know I haven't!
lol.. dont think we quite hit those speeds on the bee roads but you seemed to be giving it a shot! not at Italian bike night at the ace tonight then?
