|
. The
basic steps in taking a fine
to court are: To
dispute an infringement
offence in court you need to
lodge a court election (for
demerit point offences) or a
notice of objection (for
licence-loss offences). This
can be done online at the Fines
Victoria website. Or
you can send back the
objection form that came
with the fine. Usually it is
printed on the reverse of
the fine, or for camera
fines it is attached on a
separate page. For parking
fines you need to follow the
instructions on the fine or
the reminder letter if you
want to contest it in court.
Usually you would not make
any application for internal
review if you intend
to challenge the fine in
court. It
is by objecting to the fine that
you require the prosecution to
prove that you are guilty of an
offence. Many
people ask me whether or not
they should object to an
infringement notice - that
question is answered here.
Generally you have to object
to the fine if you want to
avoid or delay license loss.
You won't object if you
prefer to lose your drivers
licence rather than spend
money trying to save your
licence. It is only after
you receive the court papers
and the brief of evidence
that I can offer an opinion
on your chances of winning. Once
you lodge an objection, the
infringement notice is cancelled
and of no effect, so it can be
ignored. You will then be served
with a charge and summons for a
court case: see the page about defending
cases in court.
There
are two different types of
infringements which have different
rules for lodging an objection: A.
Drink driving, Drug Driving and
excessive speed infringements:
the deadline for objecting is 28
days after the date of the Traffic
Infringement Notice (TIN). If
you have received an infringement
notice for drink driving with a
reading under 0.07% you must
not object to the fine
without first getting legal
advice. Else you risk making
things worse for yourself - the 3
month penalty may increase to 6
months at court. For
drink driving, drug driving and
speeding infringements that impose
licence loss, if you
do not object to the
infringement notice
within 28 days your
licence will be
cancelled or
suspended on the
29th day after the
issue date of the
notice. If the 28th
day falls on a
non-business day,
the time for
objecting is
extended to the next
business day (see
the Interpretation
of Legislation Act).
Do not write a
letter to the police
to debate the
circumstances of the
case or to ask for a
warning or to seek
internal review - it
will never help.
Writing letters will
not extend time for
objecting to the
infringement notice,
although it can
extend time for
paying the
fine.
Late objections are usually
not possible, so if you miss
the 28 day deadline for
objecting or nominating
there is nothing anyone can
do unless you qualify for an
extension
of time. It
is possible to lodge your
objection to the fine online at
the Fines
Victoria website. Or you can
send in the objection form which
is on the back of the
ticket: print your name,
sign your name and cross out the
words "do
not intend". It
does not matter whether you cross
out "do not intend" or "do intend"
as the result will be the same.
You then post by ordinary mail the
signed form to Fines Victoria at
the address shown on the fine. It
is best to have some evidence that
you posted the objection within
time so make a dairy note and keep
copies of the objection
notice. It is not essential
to use their form. You can simply
write a letter provided it
complies with s.89A Road Safety
Act. B.
For fines other than Drink
Driving, Drug Driving and
Excessive Speeding fines:
the deadline for objecting is
about 8 to 10 weeks after the date
of the infringement notice. For
fines that impose demerit points
you can wait until you receive a
reminder letter before electing to
go to court. You
should lodge the court
election 3 weeks after you
receive the reminder
letter. Do
not worry about the increased
costs because your election
cancels the fine and the
costs. You can make the
election at
Fines
Victoria
or by sending back the form on the
back of the reminder letter. The
deadline for lodging your election
to take the case to court is
immediately prior to the making of
an enforcement order, which is
often 8 to 16 weeks after the date
of the initial infringement
notice. If
you are considering taking a
demerit points infringement to
court because you think winning
the case will help you make an
insurance claim or help you prove
you are not liable for damages
following a motor vehicle
collision then you must make an
appointment for advice prior to
lodging any court election. consequences_of_electing Consequences
of electing to go to court. After
lodging an election to go to court
you will receive a letter telling
you that the infringement notice
has been withdrawn. Once the
infringement notice has been
withdrawn it ceases to exist, so
no demerit points can be recorded,
no licence loss can be imposed and
the fine can no longer be paid -
even if you change your mind.
After electing to go to court the
court papers usually arrive in the
mail within a few months, although
the informant has 12 months from
the date of a traffic offence to
file charges at court. For camera
offences police are allowed 12
months from the date of a
nomination statement to commence a
prosecution against a nominated
person. Once you have received
court papers you should make an
appointment to seek legal
advice. If
you take a traffic
infringement to court
you will be
prosecuted for
a criminal
offence in a
criminal
court. You
will then have
the option to
attend court
to plead
guilty or not
guilty, or
don't attend
the court case
and see if the
court
determines the
case in your
absence.
The timing of your court case is
something you will sort out with
your lawyer. If
you are found guilty or
plead guilty, it is rare (but not
impossible) for the court to impose
a fine higher than that stated on
the infringement notice. It is also
quite rare for the court to impose a
period of licence loss that is
greater than the mandatory minimum
period that was on the infringement
notice.
You
should not be worried about
your court outcome appearing
on your criminal
record.
The
usual downside to going to
court and losing your case is
the risk of being ordered to
pay court costs of around
$95 - $140, as well as taking
a day off work, and if you
engage your own lawyer then
incurring your own legal fees. consequences_of_objecting Consequences
of objecting to a license loss
infringement notice. For
an infringement notice that
imposes licence loss, objecting to
the notice will cancel the
infringement notice. A
cancelled TIN can not suspend or
cancel a person's drivers licence.
You do not pay the fine. The
enforcement agency which issued
the TIN (usually
the police) will
then have the option of
prosecuting you in court by
serving you with a charge and
summons. At court, the TIN is
irrelevant to the prosecution case
and is generally irrelevant to
your defence because it has been
cancelled. After lodging an
objection to an infringement
notice it is no longer capable of
suspending your licence so this
often this means you can continue
to drive until your court case is
heard - provided your licence has
not been suspended for any other
reason. After you lodge an
objection, the police will write
to you and confirm receipt.
Usually you will receive a charge
and summons in the mail about
three months after lodging an
objection. They are allowed to
take up to a year to file charges.
Once you receive the court papers
you should seek legal advice about
defending the charge.
The
downside to
lodging a
court election
is that you
will incur
legal costs if
you seek legal
advice, you
will usually
have to attend
court and
spend time
dealing with
your case, and
there is a
tiny chance
the fine or
licence loss
period will
increase. The
benefit of
taking an
infringement
to court is
that you will
save your
licence if you
plead not
guilty and are
acquitted. You
might also buy
some time to
get yourself
ready for any
period of
licence loss.
You might
receive a
sentence which
is better than
what was on
the fine, such
as no
conviction, or
a lower fine.
If you plead
not guilty it
is possible to
receive a
shorter period
of licence
loss. #should_I_object_to_the_infringement_notice Should
you object to the infringement
notice? If
your licence is at risk and that
is a problem for you, then yes you
should take the infringement
to court - unless it is a drink
driving infringement for a reading
under 0.07%. Many people don't want to take
their infringement to court unless
they know they have a good chance of
winning. In most cases it is
impossible to advise you whether
there is a good chance of winning
until we have studied the charge and
summons, the brief of evidence and
often the body-worn camera video.
You get those things only after you
take the infringement to court. So
the process is to take the case to
court and then make an appointment
for a conference to work out if the
case is worth defending. After
your lawyer has checked the charges,
the summons and the police brief of
evidence he or she can advise you
what your chances of success are.
Then you can decide whether to plead
guilty or not guilty at court.
Your court case is not about you or
what you did. It is about the police
and what they failed to do. If you are thinking of emailing me
your story to ask whether you should
take the case to court, please don't
bother - the answer is yes if you
want me to save your licence. In 99%
of cases taking the infringement to
court is an essential prerequisite
to determining whether or not your
case is worth defending in court.
Related
Pages: . . . |
|
|
Copyright S. P. Hardy |