Is it worth getting a solicitor for a Drink Driving case? That’s the question posed by the team at Kang & Co Solicitors in Victoria Square, Birmingham
A prosecution for Drink Driving is a very serious motoring offence, and a person charged with this offence should carefully consider the merits in choosing whether to pay for a specialist motoring offence solicitor to represent them in the Magistrates’ Court. The questions many drivers may ask themselves is ‘is it worth getting a solicitor for Drink Driving?’. In this article we will aim to answer this question.
As with any purchase in life, a person charged with drink driving will subconsciously weight up the cost of paying for a solicitor with the overall value or benefit of appointing a solicitor.
The Sentence for Drink Driving
It is important to note that if a person pleads guilty to drunk driving or is found guilty following trial, the Court can impose a prison sentence of up to 6 months and a driving ban of up to 5 years. Our lawyers have found that this is something which many motorists are unaware of.
Where Your Drink Driving Case Will Be Heard
All prosecutions for drink driving will result in at least one appearance before the Magistrates’ Court. The Court in which the case is heard before will be the local one to where you were arrested. As an example, if you were arrested near Birmingham, you will be required the appeared before Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. If you were arrested in Leamington Spa, you will be required to appeared before Leamington Spa Magistrates’ Court (Warwickshire Justice Centre) and so on.
Courts are designed to be intimidating places, and for those that are unfamiliar with the Criminal Justice System, attending Court for the first time on your own can be a very nervous and uncomfortable experience. Things will usually become ever more uncomfortable when you are required to present your case before the Magistrates’ or District Judge.
Appointing a specialist lawyers will release you from the stress and anxiety of attending Court alone, as we will be with you at Court from start to finish.
Court Advocacy
Advocacy is the act of pleading for or arguing in support of something or actively supporting a cause or proposal. Advocacy means representing the interests of our client in the best manner possible.
The Specialist Driving Offence Solicitors at Kang & Co have spent many years representing clients for drink driving in Courts across England and Wales and for offences such as Drunk in Charge and Failing to Provide a Specimen for Analysis, as a result our lawyers are highly skilled and experienced at Court advocacy.
Appointing one of our Solicitors or Barristers will ensure that your rights and interest are properly protected when you attend Court, we shall advance your case to the court on your behalf and can craft and persuasive and compelling argument so that you receive the best possible result at Court.
Mitigation
Mitigation is the action of reducing the severity or seriousness of the case to obtain a reduced sentence. Mitigation is a skill which takes lawyers many years to fine-tune and should only be left to trained lawyers.
Choosing to instruct a skilled driving offence solicitor to mitigate for you in Court could potentially be the difference between receiving a prison sentence or avoiding one.
Good mitigation from a lawyer will usually result in a reduced driving ban. An experienced lawyer will be able to identify positive factors of your case which will usually result in you receiving your driving licence months or even years earlier than if you had represented yourself.
Advice on Plea
Drink driving is a complex and technical area of law, and specialist advice should be sought before deciding on whether to plead guilty or not guilty. If you appoint a lawyer to represent you, the lawyer will consider your version of events, along with the prosecution evidence and will then advise you on how you ought to plead and should explain the reasoning for the advice.
Accepting if you are guilty or not guilty isn’t a simple exercise, as in certain cases there might be a ‘Special Reasons Argument’ applicable to the facts of your case or there could be failings within the prosecution case, and you will only be able to make an informed decision of how to plead and the best course of action if you have appointed a lawyer for your case.
Drink Driving Trial
If you are leaning towards having a trial, then you should firstly obtain advice from a lawyer on your prospects of success (the likelihood of being found not guilty) as you will have to pay substantial prosecutions costs if you are unsuccessful after trial.
To stand a chance of being acquitted (found not guilty) at trial, a detailed working knowledge of the law and the police procedure is essential, along with cross examination skills, advanced advocacy skills and a supportive expert witness. Simply attending Court and denying that you were not over the limit is likely to result in a conviction.
Disadvantage
The only negative of appointing a solicitor for your drink driving case is that it will cost you however, if you have the financial means to pay for a solicitor or are able to obtain the funds to appoint a solicitor, it will certainly provide you with the best outcome at Court and may in the long term be cheaper than representing yourself.
