| In my experience....
Forking out for a big-wig solicitor is a waste of time and money (sorry those here in the legal profession)...
In some cases it makes you look arrogant and aloof.
Only time I would now consider one was if there was any reason that the officer's evidence against me came into serious question......(i.e. Dodgy road signage, way they "tracked" your speed Vs APCO guidelines etc, wrongly recorded details, untrue police statements etc, etc). In those cases an experienced criminal law solicitor knows the jargon and technicalities better than you. But to pay someone £700 to do a half-cocked grovelling job on your behalf (which is all it will be if you have nothing against the officer's evidence legally) is pointless. No one can express the predicament a ban etc will put you in better than yourself.
You can request copies of any evidence they have on you so that you can formulate your own plan before even involving a solicitor. It's only a case of polite letter writing to the CPS...why pay a solicitor £200 per letter to do this for you when you can do it yourself.
I have been there twice and have obtained every bit of evidence against me before making a plea so that i could then make the correct decisions for my own situatoin.
Pepipoo is a god-send so use it. I got most of my info from there as how to request details from the CPS.
Mail me if you want any info.
With all that in mind, you're on dodgy ground at over 100mph (unless you're name's Alex Ferguson or Dwight Yorke......he says cynically). First thing to do is send away for a new licence (say you lost your old one - costs you £20) so that if you have any convictions that have expired, they are cleared from your licence before you go to court. No point going to all the extent of raising a defence if your record resembles that of Al Capone and is documented in print.
[Edited on 25-2-2006 by Guido]  |