Does a Fine mean A Conviction?

Sarah316

Pretty straight forward,does a fine ALWAYS mean a conviction and a criminal record,or is there alternatives?

can someone who is receiving the benefit of the probation of offenders act also be fined?

Scealta_saol

Probation Act means no conviction as far as I'm aware. But a fine means a conviction. Unless your fine is to pay money to a charity. Normally then they'd say "pay €100 to SVP. We'll adjourn your case until the next sitting and if you provide a receipt we'll strike this case out". That way you'd have no conviction but you still would have received a fine.

(As you can probably tell) I sit in court sometimes

Victor

Fixed Charge Notices / Fixed Penalty Notices / Standard Fares and the like tend not to be convictions either.

Sarah316

how does the fine/court poor box system work?

can you pay on the day or do you have to return at a later date?

445279.ie

Sarah316 wrote: »

how does the fine/court poor box system work?

can you pay on the day or do you have to return at a later date?

Depends on the Judge tbh. Some expect you to pay on the day but most adjourn the case for a few months to allow you time to pay.

nailatron

about 11 years ago i was in court and ordered to pay a €100 fine.
i asked the judge if this would affect my visa application for australia at the time and he said no i'd be fine. so do u think that means it wasn't a conviction?!? i cant remember if it was to a charity or not.

im applying for a Data Protection Access Request tomorrow so i guess ill find out soon enough.

nailatron

also i paid it there on the day, i really hope it was the poor box!

Reloc8

nailatron wrote: »

also i paid it there on the day, i really hope it was the poor box!

If you paid on the day by handing it to the court clerk/garda it was poor box.

nailatron

i really cant remember who i handed the money to. i just wanted to the get the hell out of there!! i think it may have been some clerk type woman alright.

charlemont

You can be convicted and fined.

Fines can be given and the charge not recorded too whereas it would be taken care of under the probation act.

nailatron

Got a letter for the garda saying they have no record of me having any convictions. Whoop.

HappyBalance2

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1207/1224308683120.html

Would this case mean fine = no conviction? It says in lieu of a sentence which probably means a fine doesnt always mean no conviction?

Tom Young

Yes: It's also known as the Poorbox.

HappyBalance2

Tom Young wrote: »

Yes: It's also known as the Poorbox.

So these guys would have no convictions? It said in lieu of sentence not conviction in the article.

Tom Young

I'm not 100% about they case specifically. Fine in lieu of sentence may indicate a conviction but usually the vocabulary is fine & convict, x days to pay.

I suspect that the detail you might want will be here: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/criminal_law/criminal_trial/types_of_sentences.html

Tom Young

PS: Reading that report I'd say not.

Hubbledeep

Reloc8 wrote: »

If you paid on the day by handing it to the court clerk/garda it was poor box.

hey, are you absolutely sure of that?
I just rang dunl court there and they say my fine was a conviction because there was no sign of 'poor box' on the record but I did pay the fine to the court clerk?
the guy on the phone didn't sound 100% certain.