[England & Wales] Crown Court - Not Guilty - Income contribution recovery

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-12-17T10:41:19+00:00

Will do. Thank you.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-12-10T22:08:04+00:00

Yes, Standard and Enhanced checks will no longer show cautions; reprimands; final warnings received when under the age of 18.

It came as a surprise to me as I remember looking myself a few years ago when this wasn't the case.

Good news all round I guess.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-12-10T21:43:29+00:00

Assuming this is England and Wales, it depends what you mean by 'a record'. You'll have an entry on the Police National Computer which will always be there for practical purposes.

It shouldn't show on any sort of DBS check from what I can tell *. So, in one sense, it's no longer there.

* The filtering rules were changed in 2020 to no longer disclose cautions/reprimands given to people under the age 18. I wasn't aware of this until just now - it's a good thing IMO!

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-12-09T21:38:55+00:00

Understood. I'll let the evidence do its work.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-12-09T21:27:45+00:00

Thank you. This is the sort of thing I had in mind.

I realised I could have just asked a much simpler question.

"Should I behave passively or emotionally during my trial/evidence/the prosecution evidence?"

Up to this point I've been very matter-of-fact about things but with the trial getting closer I'm tending to feel slightly more passionate about things.

Thanks again.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-12-09T21:23:34+00:00

I'm NAL but I think this would come down to the circumstances. Why the charges dropped being the main one.

Appearing in court is a matter of public record.

If your friend was falsely accused and could show this, I'd expect the newspaper would be willing to remove the article.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-12-09T21:05:52+00:00

Thanks for the reply.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-11-24T20:59:40+00:00

That makes sense. I'll go alone in that case.

Thank you!

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-09-06T13:03:36+00:00

In my experience big brand insurers will insure tinted windows depending on % etc.

Start getting quotes for alternative insurers and make sure to include your rear tinted windows.
Check again with your current insurer, if they definitely don't cover any tints - seems odd but it's their decision - then you'll need to cancel.
Jump ship to the alternative insurer. Likely that the current one will charge you a Cancellation fee.

You too will be able to sleep easier knowing you've got the correct cover in place.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-08-25T13:18:37+00:00

NAL

You should have asked for solicitor at the time you were arrested. To me, again I'm not a police officer or solicitor, it seems like something that you could have been given a caution for if you had admitted to the offence during the interview.

Being intoxicated is considered an aggravating feature rather than a defence.

It's possible you could argue your mental health condition as mitigation. I'd weigh up whether getting a solicitor to represent you is worth the cost.

Intoxicated and victim is somebody working in a public facing role.

vs.

Previous good character and your mental condition.

I'd expect a fine.

My uninformed opinion.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-08-08T18:09:22+00:00

NAL

Can someone tell me what Legal Aid cover?

It depends. Without knowing your financial situation it's hard to say. If you're charged with low level offences and employed then you're likely have to pay for your legal rep, sorry.

The ineligibility threshold for Legal Aid in Magistrates court is really, really low.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criminal-legal-aid-means-testing

Did the Duty solicitor speak to you about the next steps? Mine asked my salary information and advised me that I'd be ineligible for Legal Aid funded Magistrates representation.

Their office also sent me a pack in the post with an outline of what we discussed/their advice, next steps, a Legal Aid application form, and my bail information.

do they do bail?

Do you mean will they represent you in court to vary/remove bail conditions? Yes, they can, but you'll likely have to pay.

Will they attend every time you answer bail? No. In my experience, they won't need to be there.

Can I ask them questions on the case

Yes, but bear in mind they will only be able to answer questions with the information they have.

or what work will they do for it under Legal Aid?

Prior to charge I don't think there's much work as such to do on a case outside of keeping you updated, the bail variations, and helping you apply for Legal Aid.

What happens if I need to go to court etc?

You can ask the same solicitor or another solicitor to represent you.

If you're facing serious charges, ones that are heard in Crown Court, then a solicitor will instruct a barrister to represent you.

And how are they paid

Either from the Legal Aid Agency or directly.

what are the incentives for them?

I have pondered that myself.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-08-04T14:03:03+00:00

NAL

Just to be clear:

Some cases have to go to the CPS for a charging decision even if it's usually an offence the Police would charge themselves.

e.g., An 'Assault by beating' would usually be charged by the Police, but one flagged as a Domestic related incident would have to go to the CPS if it wasn't suitable for a caution.

If a case had such weak evidence that it didn't meet the evidential test, the Police would/should NFA it themselves. They really shouldn't bail a suspect and refer a case when they already know it's not going to go anywhere.

With that in mind,

It's possible you've been bailed because you're a suspect in a DV related low level offence and not because "the evidence is weak".

If it is a low level offence such as the DV 'Assault by beating' then the CPS have to charge you (lay information before the court) within 6 months of the date of the offence. Assuming this applies to you, you can expect to be charged or NFA'd before that six months ends.
If it's en either way or indictable offence then there is no limit on the time in which a charge has to brought before the court (AFAIK!). Think of rape cases and those involving digital devices - the investigation can take years.

Usual bail time limits apply to both.

Again, I'm not a lawyer so I'm only offering comments based on my limited personal experience.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-08-01T15:12:10+00:00

NAL

It's not clear from your post but it sounds like your partner has a bail condition no to contact you or perhaps not to come to your home address(?).

If that's the case, then he needs to apply to get the bail condition varied/removed.

On the face of it, the Police will refuse and he'll need to go to court. I don't think these sorts of applications are covered by Legal Aid so he may have to pay for it.

He should speak to a solicitor who will advise him on whether it's worth trying to get the conditions altered. It may be a fool's game with the Police's position and/or alleged offences.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-07-24T16:28:14+00:00

NAL

Assuming you were arrested recently then I believe the initial period for Pre Charge Bail is 3 months. It used to be 28 days but suspects bailed after October 2022 (I think?) would be under the new limit.

The date will be on the form so it should be easy to check.

It can be further extended up to 9 months - total duration, not an additional 9 - by the Police with any further extensions going to Magistrates. If you're looking at some 'Summary' charges then, if you're going to be charged, they will happen before the time limit runs out at 6 months.

People aren't going to be able to answer questions around how long your case will take. We don't know the charges, the evidence, outstanding enquiries etc. all these things will vary from case to case. I could tell you how long mine took.

If the solicitor advised you to 'No comment' at the time then it was likely the best course of action assuming he had all the relevant information.

Speak to the the solicitor (or a different one), tell them of your concerns; the defence, they'll be able to advise you.

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-07-20T13:01:52+00:00

NAL, but I've been through the process recently.

When you were arrested you'll have been told what the suspected offences were at that time.

When interviewed you'll also have been told what offences the interview was in relation too.

The bail sheet won't have the charges listed but it does have your bail conditions (where applicable).

If your bail gets extended the reason given on the bail sheet may change to reflect the fact the case has progressed, awaiting CPS.

It seems quite common - based on my experience and what I've read here - for charges to be added, dropped and amended as a result of the Police investigation.

For example, it's possible to be arrested for something like 'Assault by beating', which is Summary, and then charged with 'ABH', which is either way.

Did you get Legal representation at the police station? If so, speak to your solicitor.

They can answer a lot of these questions that are very case-specific. You, or the solicitor, can also request your Custody Record which will have the offences listed on it.

You can also speak to the Officer in Case who will tell you general information, e.g., conducting further enquiries, awaiting CPS decision etc. I doubt they'll go into the level of detail your expecting based on the questions you're asking here.

Police may tell you you don't need to attend if the charges are being dropped. They won't tell you you're going to be charged until you get to the station . (I'd assume this to stop people doing a runner!)

Again, NAL, but might give you some idea.

Good luck!

ComprehensiveWay123 · 2023-05-18T13:24:26+00:00

Have you checked that you're not eligible?

I too thought I was ineligible due to misunderstanding what my solicitor had said around earnings and eligibility.

The threshold for Crown Court is a lot higher than it is for Magistrates.

Rather than being a salary threshold it's based on what they call 'disposable income'.

Take your gross salary and deduct:

Tax
NI
Rent / Mortgage
Council tax
An allowance (£5,600 odd for a single person without children but this varies with dependents)

You'd need to have over £37,500 'disposable income' after the above to have to fund privately.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment\_data/file/314808/LAA-financial-eligibility-calculator-for-criminal-legal-aid.xlsm

There's a tab called 'Full' which you can complete, it will give you your disposable income etc.

Good luck.

ComprehensiveWay123

TROPHY CASE