Court Appearance - What to expect?

I'm up in court on Wednesday for a traffic warden ticket. Local council sent me a summons for non-payment of a fine for non-display of road tax on car. Feel stupid, forgot to pay fine on both notices received. Spoke to solicitor friend & was told to turn up & be very apologetic etc.......

Will it be as straightforward as that? Am feeling a bit stressed about the whole thing. Know its my own fault. Car taxed & all arrears paid etc.....What can I expect on the day!!!????

Depending on the court list that day it could be over before you know it. District Court cases move very fast and a case like this should take no more than a couple of minutes.

recently went to court to support a friend,not traffic related however,a few words of warning Im sure you got a letter telling you to be there at 10.30 be prepared to wait all day!said friend received summons telling them to be there at 10.30 and case wasnt heard until 3.30,spoke to solicitor and was told that all parties involved in all cases have to be there at 10.30 on the off chance that every other case ahead of theirs is adjourned.

Don't stress. you didn't kill anybody, although you might feel like it at the end of what may be a very very long day waiting!

Remember to turn off your phone or at least put it on silent while in court you could be in alot more trouble if you forget depending on the judge!

i agree,ensure its off,had a few people ducking for cover the day i was in!

Don't sweat it. Bring ALL your receipts (driving licence and insurance too just in case) with you to prove the arrears have been paid (I presume it's a summons for no tax and/or no tax displayed?).
If everything is paid up with arrears, you'll be looking at a fine (how much depends on the judge, you didn't mention where though) and costs for the county council/corporation solicitor. If you ring their fines office, they should have a fair idea of the "going rate" in their area.
Listen carefully for your name to be called. Depending on where the court is, some Court Clerks will rattle throught the list and will not wait around for someone not listening or gone for a ciggie - they'll have scores of cases to get through. Most don't have microphones or intercoms.
Ask a nice guard or solicitor can you have a look at the court list too. Your name should be on there and you might get some idea when you'll be called. There will be applications, charge sheets and a summary list. Every court hears these in whatever order they like but be there for 10.30, switch off the phone and enjoy the show. You can always spot the "novice" defendants because they're the only ones who have bothered to wear a suit! If it's a traffic warden, most courts leave them til last but this can vary. If you're bringing along moral support, have a little bet on how many times the guards say veh-hickle!

Again it depends on the clerk, in my local court the traffic warden is always up after the applications. So you would be finished by 11 easily.

How'd it go?

Despite all the media reports there is no internet access from the Joy! Even GPRS/3G signals are blocked. He/she'll be out by the weekend with some great stories.

davidoco said:

Despite all the media reports there is no internet access from the Joy! Even GPRS/3G signals are blocked. He/she'll be out by the weekend with some great stories.

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Zero Tolerance, at last. Put the sudo creme in the fridge.