Seeking Legal Representation for A Motoring Offence

You may find that you will need to seek legal representation if you have been arrested and charged with a motoring offence of considerable seriousness.

For many less serious offences the police will issue you with a Fixed Penalty Notice (commonly known as a ticket) and you have an allotted period of time to pay the fine. You will also have a designated number of points (depending on the offence) allocated to your driver’s licence which you must send to the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) to have added to your licence.

These penalty points will remain on your licence for a set period of time after which the responsibility is yours to have the licence returned to the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) for their removal.

What Happens if I am Arrested?

If you are arrested it will normally be on suspicion of committing an offence. A police officer may have suspicion that you have broken the law but they then must prove it before they can charge you. For this reason you will be cautioned and arrested on suspicion of committing a crime. You will then be taken to the nearest police station where you will be interviewed and subsequently charged if there is sufficient evidence or indeed if you admit to having committed the offence in question.

Being Interviewed

Once you have been taken to the nearest police station you will be presented before the duty officer who will decide upon what action to take next. If there are sufficient grounds to continue with the arrest he or she will take you through exactly what you are being held on suspicion of.

At this point you will be asked if you wish to have legal representation made on your behalf? If you do you be asked for name and contact details of your solicitor or you will be given the opportunity to avail of the services of a duty solicitor.

Whichever option you choose you have the right to refuse to be interviewed until such times as your legal representation arrives. If you decline to have a solicitor present then you can be interviewed as soon as it is possible to do so.

If you have been arrested on suspicion of an offence relating to the consumption of alcohol then the duty officer may decide that you are to be held until deemed free of alcohol so that you can be interviewed without fear of the interview being prejudiced.

The Duty Solicitor

The Duty Solicitor is an independent solicitor who works on behalf of those individuals who cannot afford their own legal representation. He or she may take some time in getting to you so if you do not have your own legal representation you should prepare yourself for a wait.

Once they have arrived they will discuss with you in private the nature and reasons behind your arrest and will ask you as to how you wish to proceed? If you decide you are guilty of the offence for which you have been arrested then the duty solicitor will make this known to the duty officer and the officers responsible for your arrest.

You will be interviewed – under caution – in the presence of your legal representation and with the interview being both recorded and written down. Your solicitor may request copies of both tape and written statement in order to prepare you case for court.

Being Remanded on Police Bail

If you have agreed that you are guilty of the offence in question your legal representation can push for your release on police bail. However this is not a guarantee that you will be released on bail. If the duty officer feels there are sufficient grounds to believe you may abscond or commit a similar offence on bail he may decline at which point you will be held in police custody until a hearing can be arranged.

Going to Court

You can – if you so wish – decide not to use the services of the duty solicitor when the matter comes to court. You may employ the services of your own legal counsel if you can afford them. However it may be best to allow the duty solicitor to continue acting on your behalf given that he or she is already familiar with the nature of the arrest and the offence.

Whatever the circumstances of the offence and your subsequent arrest you should engage the services of legal representation if you are not one hundred per cent happy with the charge or if you feel that you are innocent of the charges brought against you.