Electric Picnic Court Summons

funky chops

Hi all,
I understand you cant give out any specific advice, however, ive been summonsed to court and have no idea as to the process, lenghts of time, what to do at all. It will be my first time in court and I dont have any friends who have being either.

Its a summons under the misuse of drugs act 1977 sections 3 and 27, I live in Dublin and the court is in Portlaoise (as the offence happened at electric picnic).

Just wondering how I should proceed regarding this, would there be any point in contacting a Dublin solicitor or should I try and contact a Laois one. Roughly how much do solicitors charge?

Are there any ways I could mitigate the severity of the judgement prior to it?

Do court hearings generally last a long time?

Would the court view the fact that the offence (possession of mdma) happened at a festival as opposed to on the street and the fact that I cooperated with the Gardai in question in my favour or am I only fooling myself by thinking this?

Thanks in advance (and apologies for all the questions, but I genuinelly havent a clue about this at all)

Aprilsunshine

You need a solicitor.

They will explain the whole process to you. You may apply for legal aid if you cannot afford a solicitor. Solicitors will charge different amounts for different work and appearing in different courts, so it's hard to tell you what price you will pay for a private solicitor.

I think it's the District Court you're going to. You might be lucky and get a judge who feels lenient and fines you instead of a custodial sentence. The legislation you are being charged under allows a judge to send you to prison when the drug you are carrying is any thing other than cannabis.

It makes no real difference where you get a solicitor other than costs - a Dublin solicitor will charge you more for travelling to Portlaoise and in addition a local solicitor may know the judge's way of thinking etc having been before him/her before in similar cases.

In terms of mitigation, your solicitor will plead for you to the judge that you are good character, that you have no previous offences etc and sometimes this can help but there are no guarantees.

You really need a solicitor. Judges are hard on drugs offences.

Victor

If cost effectiveness is what you want, talk to a solicitor who will be at that hearing anyway - most likely someone local.

funky chops wrote: »

Would the court view the fact that the offence (possession of mdma) happened at a festival as opposed to on the street

Neutral or worsen your case. No particular benefit in being intoxicated as part of a large crowd.

and the fact that I cooperated with the Gardai in question in my favour or am I only fooling myself by thinking this?

This will help. Doing something constructive with your life (work / study / community involvement) may also help, as might a drug / alcohol awareness education and references for good character.

murrayp4

Get a solicitor; as was said above, a local solicitor will more likely know the judge dealing with your case so would be preferable to a Dublin based solicitor.