Our Fixed Fees
Magistrates Court Fixed Fees
Your case will be dealt with by a criminal defence solicitor who has the criminal litigation accreditation issued by the Law Society which is recognised as a quality standard for practitioners in criminal litigation.
Key Stages
If you are arrested by the police you will potentially be interviewed or breathalysed in connection with the offence. You will then receive a notice requiring you to attend court. In most cases you will attend the Magistrates’ Court. In more serious cases your case would be sent to the Crown Court where a Crown Court Judge would deal with your case.
If you plead guilty at court the court would sentence you for the crime. If you plead not guilty, there would be a trial. When in the Magistrates, the Magistrates would decide if you were guilty or not. In the Crown Court, a jury would decide whether you were guilty or not. We will advise you in relation to whether you should plead guilty or not guilty.
If you are not eligible for Legal Aid, we can still act for you on a private paying basis. We can provide you with a fixed price for representation at Court subject to terms and conditions and prior agreement. Please contact one of our specialist criminal defence solicitors who will be happy to provide you with a price tailored to the individual requirements of your case. Contact one of our team.
Our fees range between £360 (including £60 VAT) and £1200 (including £200 VAT) for summary only guilty plea cases.
The time frame for your case will be dictated by the date when you are required to attend court. Generally your case will be dealt with for the first hearing unless it is adjourned because the court requires further information.
Generally, we do not charge any fees for disbursements but if an expert report is required you will have to pay the cost of that expert report. Expert reports can vary and could be between £500 and £1,500. An expert could be required to prove, for example, that the alcohol you drank after you drove the car brought you over the legal limit but the alcohol you drank prior to driving the vehicle was at a level where you would be under the legal limit.
Our Fixed Fee for representing you in a motoring case includes the following :-
- Meeting your solicitor to provide instructions
- Considering the initial disclosure, any other evidence and provide advice
- Arranging to take witness statements if necessary (there will be an additional cost of £120 including £20 VAT per witness for taking a statement from a witness)
- Explaining the Court procedure to you, so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing and the sentencing options available to the Court.
- Conducting any further preparatory work, obtaining further instructions from you if necessary and answering any follow up queries you have.
- We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the Court listing for that day.
- Attending Court on the day and meeting you before going before the Court. We anticipate being at Court for one half of a day.
- Discussing the outcome with you. If advise is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.
The Fee does not include :-
- Instructing any expert witnesses.
- Taking statements from any witnesses.
- Advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing.
- Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal.
- Case listed in the crown court.
The fee is for a guilty plea only and if you plan to plead not guilty then our fixed fee would not apply, and you should seek a tailored fee from your solicitor.
The solicitor who will conduct your case :-
The solicitor who will conduct your case is part of our criminal defence team, you can find more information here – Criminal Defence Team
Penalty Points – We Can Help
Virtually every motoring offence carries penalty points. The minimum you can receive for even the most minor offence is 3 points.
In any 3 year period, if you receive 12 points you can be disqualified for at least 6 months, under what are known as the totting up provisions.
This can have disastrous consequences on a person’s job and livelihood.
We can help!
In certain circumstances you may be able to advance “special reasons” for not receiving the penalty points in the first place. Also, if you do “tot up” to 12 points you may be able to put forward an “exceptional hardship” argument when the effects of the disqualification would cause you hardship way beyond that which might reasonably be expected from a simple speeding offence, for example.
Drink Driving
It isn’t necessarily all over. We can help!
There may be a procedural mistake that the police or prosecution have made.
The period of disqualification has to be a minimum of 12 months and will then increase according to the reading you have.
- Legal limit for breath – 35
- Legal limit for blood – 80
Under 50mg breath you have the right to have the sample changed to blood or urine (usually blood). It can take time for the Doctor to arrive to take the sample and in marginal cases the delay may help you.
A second conviction for driving with excess alcohol within 10 years of the first will mean the obligatory minimum is a 3 year disqualification.
No “exceptional hardship” argument is available in these situations as the disqualifications are mandatory but you can still advance “special reasons”. There may be exceptional circumstances relating to why you drove, also the shortness of the distance driven may be a factor. These can be put forward to try to prevent a disqualification.
What about driving with drugs in your system (prescribed or otherwise)?
With alcohol offences the level of alcohol is measured and if you are over the limit you are deemed to be unfit to drive. With drugs it is different. Even if drugs are found to be in your system they cannot be measured in terms of quantity so how does anyone know that you are unfit to drive because of them?
Drunk in charge of a motor vehicle. Ever slept in the car one night not intending to drive when the police come along. Providing you can prove you had no intention to drive before you were legally able to, you have not committed any offence.
No suggestion that any of these arguments are simple in law or easy to advance successfully but with our expert help your chances of keeping your license are significantly higher.
