Motoring offences

Whilst we at Coulson Read Lewis represent clients accused of the gravest of crimes we also understand the importance of your driving licence.

The loss of a driving licence through for example disqualification can have devastating effects on a person’s life. It can impact on all areas, livelihood, family life and as a result the consequences of losing the ability to drive can be very serious indeed.

It is very often the case that the individual who ends up before the Magistrates Court in respect of motoring offences has never appeared in a criminal court in their lives. You can depend on our team to employ all of its experience to secure the very best result for you.

We offer fixed fees in respect of certain motoring offences that are dealt with by the Magistrates Courts. These offences are called summary only offences, an example of this would be a charge of Driving with Excess Alcohol or better known as Drink Driving.

The fixed fee will vary depending upon the charge you face and its complexity, the type of case ie addressing the Magistrates on your behalf following a guilty plea or representing you at trial.

Where the case involves one hearing at Court and will be resolved at that hearing, for example a guilty plea the fixed fee is likely to range between;

• £250.00 + VAT at 20%  of £50.00 – £750.00 + VAT at 20% of £150.00 (there are cases that are exceptions to this range of fixed fee)
• Cases such as Trials or where additional hearings are necessary are not covered by fixed fees. We are happy to discuss the costs involved in relation to these types of cases. The costs will be based upon the solicitor or barrister’s hourly private rate detailed above. The costs will depend on the complexity of the case and how much time is required in preparing the case and representing you at Court.

• Your Solicitor or Barrister will consider the evidence.
• They will take your instructions and prepare your “plea in mitigation.” This is the term used for the speech they will make to the Magistrates in Court at your hearing. This purpose of the speech is to highlight the features of the case or your individual circumstances that lessen the seriousness of the offence or reduces the sentence you could expect.
• They will advise you of the likely sentence you will receive and the effects of that sentence, for example where you are facing a disqualification from driving.
• They will advise where it is available to you of arguments that could be presented on your behalf in court such as “exceptional hardship” or “special reasons.” Exceptional Hardship arguments can be made in certain circumstances where a person has accrued 12 penalty points on their licence and wish to argue that they should not be disqualified from driving due to the hardship this would cause to themselves and/or others who rely upon them and their ability to drive. Special Reasons arguments can be employed in certain circumstances where there would ordinarily be a mandatory disqualification but circumstances about the offence exist where the Magistrates can decide not to disqualify the person from driving.
• Please be aware that Special Reasons Arguments and Exceptional Hardship Arguments usually require an additional hearing which is not covered by a fixed fee. These types of cases involve additional preparation to be carried out by the solicitor and are therefore subject to the solicitor’s hourly rate.
• You will be represented at Court at the hearing of your case by a solicitor or in rare circumstances by our in-house Barrister.

In some cases there are additional costs in representing a client at a single Court hearing. Examples of these are as follow;

• Solicitors Travel Costs – Mileage is charged at 45p per mile. There is no VAT. Where a solicitor has to travel over 1 hour to the Court dealing with your case there will be a fee of £60 per hour + VAT at 20% of £12.00.
• Where the case requires a Solicitor to travel to take any statements in support of, for example, an exceptional hardship argument, the travel costs will be as above. The time taken by the solicitor in taking the statement will be charged at their hourly rate which are detailed above.
• If it were necessary to instruct an expert witness this would be a disbursement (payment to a third party) which would be an additional cost to the client.
• Advice on Appeal.
• Representation at an Appeal Hearing at the Crown Court.

This example presumes the following;

• The client is appearing before the local Magistrates Court so there are no travel costs in respect of the solicitor.
• No expert evidence or witness statements are required in support.

The Fixed Fee is £250.00 + VAT at 20% of £50.00

The Fixed Fee Includes the Following Work Being Carried Out;

• Two hours of the solicitors time to include;
• Considering the Evidence.
• Taking Detailed Instructions from you.
• Providing advice on the likely sentence and the sentencing options available to the Court.
• Attendance and representation at a single hearing before the Magistrates Court.

• The instruction of any expert witness.
• Taking statements from witnesses.
• Advice and Assistance in respect of a Special Reasons argument.
• Preparation of an Appeal or Representation at any Appeal Hearing.

The following assumptions have been made in this example;

• You have or will be entering a guilty plea.
• You have been given a date for your hearing.
• The case will be concluded at that single hearing.

Your Solicitor or Barrister will;

• Meet with you and take you instructions, this is when you tell your solicitor what happened.
• Consider the evidence in your case where it is available. This is often referred to Initial Disclosure or IDPC. We will advise you on the evidence and any other information or evidence we receive.
• Explain fully the Court procedure and what will happen at your hearing on the Court date.
• Advise you of the likely sentence and the effects of that sentence. We will also advise you of the sentencing options available to the Court.
• Carry out any further preparation work that maybe required, including, where necessary taking further instructions from you.
• Try and give you a timescale as to how long your hearing will last. It is difficult to provide a timescale as to when on the day your case will be heard as all cases on the day are placed in a list, they do not have set time hearings.
• Attend at Court on the day of your hearing and meet with you before going into Court. This will give us the opportunity to discuss any concerns you have or answer any questions you may have. In a case such as this you are likely to be at court for half a day although cases do sometimes go into the afternoon sitting. You will not be charged extra if this were to happen.
• After the hearing the outcome and sentence will be fully explained to you. If there is a need to provide advice on Appeal this will incur an extra cost and is not covered by the fixed fee. The costs will depend on how long the solicitor needs to prepare and give this advice to you and will be based upon that solicitor’s hourly charge out rate.