Its been a few months now and I've received a court summons. I've been given 3 options; to plead guilty and not attend, plead guilty and attend or plead not guilty. What would be the best option? Also should I request the witness/inspector to also attend? If I attend what happens and what is expected of me? Will I be questioned and what should I say? I've never been in trouble before so I don't know what to do. Again, I would appreciate any advice anyone could give. Thank you so much.

Fare evasion
 

Michelle wrote:
Its been a few months now and I've received a court summons. I've been
given 3 options; to plead guilty and not attend, plead guilty and
attend or plead not guilty. What would be the best option?

You were using someone else's Freedom Pass? I'd imagine you have very
little chance to win if you plead not guilty, but I'm not a lawyer.
You'll get a discount off your fine for an early guilty plea.

Will I be questioned and what
should I say? I've never been in trouble before so I don't know what to
do. Again, I would appreciate any advice anyone could give. Thank you
so much.

I believe you can either send a statement in mitigation to be considered
in sentencing if you plead by post, or you can do so in person. You'll
have to decide whether your statement would be more persuasive delivered
in person or not, and whether that is worth the time and stress in
attending court. I think that there should be a duty solicitor to help
you on the day if you attend, although maybe that is only available to
people pleading not guilty.

Ask in uk.legal.moderated for better advice.
--
Michael Hoffman

Fare evasion
 

"Michelle" wrote in message
...

Its been a few months now and I've received a court summons. I've been
given 3 options; to plead guilty and not attend, plead guilty and
attend or plead not guilty. What would be the best option? Also
should I request the witness/inspector to also attend? If I attend
what happens and what is expected of me? Will I be questioned and what
should I say? I've never been in trouble before so I don't know what to
do. Again, I would appreciate any advice anyone could give. Thank you
so much.




--
Michelle

Tell the truth?

Fare evasion
 

Michelle wrote:
Its been a few months now and I've received a court summons. I've
been given 3 options; to plead guilty and not attend, plead guilty
and attend or plead not guilty. What would be the best option?

From what you said here in February (using a relative's Freedom Pass for
part of your journey), you are clearly guilty of the offence, and you
won't be able to persuade the magistrate that you're not, so you should
plead guilty. For attendance, see below.

Also should I request the witness/inspector to also attend?

I see no point, as the facts are not in dispute.

If I attend what happens and what is expected of me? Will I be
questioned and what should I say?

You will have to stand in the dock and hear LU's solicitor explain the
case against you, including what you said at the time, and anything you
may have written in response to the letter from LU in March. The
magistrate will then ask you what you have to say, and that is your
opportunity to explain things from your point of view, and to say how
very sorry you are that you were so stupid. If you are not confident
that you will be able to do this, you should plead guilty by post with a
written statement.

I rather doubt whether it's worth hiring a solicitor to represent you in
court, but that's something you could discuss with a solicitor now (e.g.
via Citizens Advice Bureau). Although we might feel that a confident
personal appearance would help, I suspect that magistrates don't
actually take much notice in this sort of case.

You said previously that the Freedom Pass belonged to a relative who
knew you had it. I think it's very important that you should explain
exactly why you normally hold the Freedom Pass, because otherwise it
would look as if you had borrowed it without permission. Depending on
the circumstances it may be useful to get the Freedom Pass holder (or
someone else) to confirm the arrangement in a separate letter that you
could send to the court.

Otherwise, just explain in detail what you did and why, say that you
realise it was stupid, and that you're very sorry.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Fare evasion
 

Richard J. ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Its been a few months now and I've received a court summons. I've
been given 3 options; to plead guilty and not attend, plead guilty
and attend or plead not guilty. What would be the best option?

From what you said here in February (using a relative's Freedom Pass for
part of your journey), you are clearly guilty of the offence, and you
won't be able to persuade the magistrate that you're not, so you should
plead guilty.

Otherwise, just explain in detail what you did and why, say that you
realise it was stupid, and that you're very sorry.

But certainly PLEAD GUILTY.

There's no doubt about it, and the magistrate won't thank you for wasting
everybody's time claiming otherwise.

Fare evasion
 

Richard J. wrote:

Depending on
the circumstances it may be useful to get the Freedom Pass holder (or
someone else) to confirm the arrangement in a separate letter that you
could send to the court.

Might this incriminate the Freedom Pass holder? Sorry, I can't be
bothered to read through the relevant laws at the moment, but it is
perhaps worth considering.
--
Michael Hoffman

Fare evasion
 

Michael Hoffman wrote:
Richard J. wrote:

Depending on
the circumstances it may be useful to get the Freedom Pass holder
(or someone else) to confirm the arrangement in a separate letter
that you could send to the court.

Might this incriminate the Freedom Pass holder? Sorry, I can't be
bothered to read through the relevant laws at the moment, but it is
perhaps worth considering.

Depends on the arrangement. If, for example, a woman looked after her
elderly father's Freedom Pass because he was getting vague about such
things, and anyway she accompanied him whenever he used public
transport, then that would be perfectly legal and understandable.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Fare evasion
 

Michelle wrote:
Its been a few months now and I've received a court summons. I've
been given 3 options; to plead guilty and not attend, plead guilty and
attend or plead not guilty. What would be the best option? Also
should I request the witness/inspector to also attend? If I attend
what happens and what is expected of me? Will I be questioned and
what should I say? I've never been in trouble before so I don't know
what to do. Again, I would appreciate any advice anyone could give.
Thank you so much.

Plead guilty... as you are. Say it was a mistake and you're sorry. They
won't hang you! If you can attend in person, do so. But it's not
essential.

I decided to go to court and plead guilty, I had to pay £170 in the end. I wasn't prosecuted with anything, but I've well and truly learnt my lesson. I will never be so stupid to make a mistake like that again and I'll always have enough money on my own oyster! I'll be warning anyone and everyone considering avoiding paying their fare whether its intentional or not. Thank you so much to everyone who gave me advice, it really did help.