Stopped last night, charged with DD and given court date :(

Convicted Driver Insurance

Resolutionary

New Member
Hi folks,

I was driving some friends home after a wedding reception yesterday evening in Farnham - got a bit lost and as I pulled into a BP petrol station I realised we'd been followed (not sure how long for) by a marked police car. The officers were friendly and helpful, and mentioned that they could smell alcohol on me and the other occupants so would be doing a roadside breath test. I initially blew 70, which genuinely surprised the heck out of me as I thought I'd limited my intake (2 pints) and left plenty of time before driving off (2 hours after last drink). Massive eye opener to say the least.

Anyway, I ended up at Aldershot police station at about 1am after one of the officers parked and locked my car. After two further samples, blowing 56 and 57, I was shown to a cell where I slept and was later released on bail (at about 5.45am). The officers and sergeant involved were decent and professional throughout - and let me know what to expect. At several points they asked if I'd need legal services but to be honest as I haven't been in a situation like this before I hastily disregarded any offers.

This morning I've been searching online for information on what happens next, and seen things suggesting I must seek legal advice hence my post here. It's quite a scary position to be in and I'm genuinely ashamed at myself for being so stupid.

So I guess my first question is - as I expect I'll be pleading guilty - do I need to seek legal representation? I've read that this is adviseable but not too sure on options or necessity.

Furthermore, is it common for one to represent themselves in situations like this? As mentioned this is quite literally my first run in with the law, and I'm just not clued up.

Also, I saw somewhere that it's sometimes a good idea to get character references and perhaps write a letter to the judge myself, to try and demonstrate competency and remorse. Is this true?

Many thanks in advance for reading, and any responses.
 
To clarify, for a first offence with a reading of 56 in breath the Magistrates sentencing guidelines advise the imposition of a 12-16 month disqualification and a Band C fine which would be calculated based upon your income. You are also likely to be offered the opportunity to attend the drink drive rehabilitation course which would reduce the length of your disqualification by up to 25% upon completion.

Whether or not you wish to seek legal representation is entirely a matter for you. Some people are happy to deal with the matter themselves and the severity of the sentence is not likely to have a significant impact on them. In these circumstances it is entirely understandable that people do not want to incur the cost of representation. However I would certainly say that in my experience those who are represented tend to get more lenient sentences than those who are not. Having a lawyer with you on the day and a fully prepared case can make a significant difference to the sentence imposed. The middle ground would be to try and utilise the duty solicitor at Court. However this is dependant upon them being available to represent you at Court which may not be the case if there is a busy Court list. This also means that any preparation work would have to be prepared by you without assistance ahead of the hearing.

Mitigation is certainly important if you are pleading guilty to the offence. This can indeed be supported by things such as character references and these are often helpful in giving the Court a perspective from a third party.

If you are interested in the possibility of representation you are welcome to call my department on 0333 999 7158.
 
Hi Sean,

Thank you very much for the detailed response.

I had read that I could expect a 16 month ban for an offence like mine so thanks for confirming. I have now contacted Stephensons and am awaiting a call back from someone at your firm who specialises in driving offences. As you have summed up, I think it'd be wise for someone like me with no experience of legal matters to at least seek advice, and probably representation which could well affect any final decisions.

As I alluded to, I most likely will plead guilty as it's a pretty clear cut situation any way you look at it, and I certainly don't want to appear uncooperative. I will discuss options including mitigation with your colleague as soon as possible.

Thanks again for all your help.

Regards
 
I understand that you have now spoken to my colleague Alex who is dealing with the matter and should be able to assist with any further queries.
 
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