Arrest warrant being issued soon. Looking for advice

JCmanu

Ok so my story starts a couple of years ago when I got in trouble for a couple of road traffic offences. Namely, driving on provisional licence with no full licence driver, no L plates and no tax... I'm not posting to defend myself, I was stupid and shouldn't have done it but I can't change that now.

So I went to court and was handed €2400 worth of fines which were divided between two separate offences. One bunch of fines was for €1000 and the second was for the remainder.

I was unable to pay the fines as I was a student so for the first €1000 I did 24 hours in prison.

The deadline for paying the rest of the fines is in 6 days. I am so desperate two avoid another two days inside that I am tempted to leave the country. Which is a big thing to do to dodge what some people might think is a simple trip away for two days.

While I am working now I don't have the sort of money to pay the €1400 that I owe...

SO. Does anyone have any info that could help me. Maybe a way I could buy myself another couple of months time to try to scrape the money together. Lets put it like this, I don't want to run from the country I grew up in, but i'm not going back inside for a couple of days either.

Thanks for any help.

ElChe32

I think skipping the country is by far the worst idea you can think of. If you can't pay the fines, do the prison sentence..as you say it's only a few days? In the long run skipping the country will look bad on you.

charlemont

Depending what prison they bring you to you may only do a few hours. Ask at your local barracks to be notified when the warrant arrives and arrange to meet them so they can bring you to prison.

KwackerJack

They will lock you up for a few hours and let you go!

They prisons are over crowded at it will cost more than €1400 Euros to transport you prison, to keep you while you are there and then to make sure you find a way home!

Just go and do they few hours are even the few days, if you skip the country they will track you with your passport and when you arrive back you will be facing more than 2 days.

JCmanu

Thanks for all the replys, really appreciate it. I know someone said it will cost a lot for them to put me inside but that makes me think why would they even bother trying to trace me if i left the country.

Last time I went, it was to midlands, in Port Laoise.

I reckon, given two or 3 months I could get the money together, so does anyone think there is a way to get some more time to pay the fines?

Gatling

How many years have you not been able to the fine

Pat Mustard

JCmanu wrote: »

a couple of road traffic offences. Namely, driving on provisional licence with no full licence driver, no L plates and no tax

JCmanu wrote: »

So I went to court and was handed €2400 worth of fines which were divided between two separate offences. One bunch of fines was for €1000 and the second was for the remainder.

See a solicitor about Appealling.

GoodisonPark

What didn't you ask the judge for more time to pay when he imposed the fine?

meathstevie

If you go to prison or not does not matter one bit at this stage, the convictions are on your record so you may as well do the day or two in prison and end up owing nothing. Look at it this way, are you ever again going to be paid about €400 a day to sit on your arse and eat 3 meals ?

JCmanu

I only got a letter in the post the other day giving me a deadline to pay the fines. So I haven't asked for more time already.

I would see a solicitor but that could end up costing more money than the fines. Plus, I don't see what there is to appeal. I did what I was convicted for... I did the crime, can't pay the fine, but don't wanna do time.

Some people would probably think "grow some balls, just go to prison for a couple of days". But I'm pretty young, always been quiet. Nothing bad happened to me last time but a place like that for a person like me is hell. Hence why I'm considering doing something crazy to avoid it

JCmanu

I didn't know I could

Fred Swanson

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Citygirl1

Why don't you try to borrow the money?

Perhaps from a close family member or even try a Credit Union. Now that you are working you should be able to repay it over a number of months.

Although €1,400 is a large amount of money, in the bigger scheme of things it is not huge.

Having to repay this (with interest) should teach you a lesson, but you can avoid going to prison.

Busted Flat.

Don't waste time or money on a solicitor, do the time, when you go in, the governor, learning of your circumstances, more than likely send you home after you are checked in. Hold on to your few bob, and take the pain.

oceancat

Do the time it will only be for a few hours or 1 day max,

I have been into cork prison 3 times for non payment of fines the longest i had to do was an overnight stay on one of the occasions, the other 2 didn't get past the holding cell,

Tis gas it must cost the state some money, they had 2 cops come to my door to escort me to prison, then when i was there they gave me a dinner and when i was released they gave me 20 euro for the train home,

All in all the 3 fines amounted to nearly 4 grand, did a few hours got fed and my fare home and now the fines are gone happy days,

I would have no problem going back again if i ever get another fine.

twowheelsonly

No point in leaving the country OP. The fines will still be there when you get back. (And you will be back!!)
I don't understand how there's two sets of fines if you got them all on the same day. Were you given longer to pay the second lot or were they all due on the same date?
Check the dates that you were in prison against the dates on the warrants.
If you were in Prison on the 1st of May for instance, and the warrants were issued on the 31st of April or before, then it's time served already.
Worst case scenario you'll do an overnight in Prison which is a lot easier than looking over your shoulder every time you come home. Better to face up to it now and be done with it, at least you're expecting it. Imagine that you're working somewhere in 2/3 years and you're carted off then!


EDIT: Generally you'd only have 14 days to appeal. For an extension of time to appeal you'd have to go to the High Court and then it would only to be to appeal severity of sentence if you already pleaded guilty. The fines might be reduced but then again they might not. IMO, not worth it in this case. (NOT legal advice by the way - rather my understanding of the situation.)

Pat Mustard

JCmanu wrote: »

I would see a solicitor but that could end up costing more money than the fines.

I doubt it.

Also, it will cost you the price of a phone call to see how much a first consultation would be. Possibly nothing.

JCmanu wrote: »

Plus, I don't see what there is to appeal. I did what I was convicted for... I did the crime, can't pay the fine, but don't wanna do time.

A person may appeal against conviction, or,
a person may appeal against severity of sentence, or,
a person may appeal against conviction and severity of sentence.

But if you don't bother to ask a solicitor for professional advice, then you can listen to some random guys on the internet who are advising you to go to jail instead.

JCmanu wrote: »

Some people would probably think "grow some balls, just go to prison for a couple of days". But I'm pretty young, always been quiet. Nothing bad happened to me last time but a place like that for a person like me is hell. Hence why I'm considering doing something crazy to avoid it

You could do something sensible instead of doing something stupid.

You really should consider getting professional legal advice.

twowheelsonly

The Mustard wrote: »

I doubt it.

Also, it will cost you the price of a phone call to see how much a first consultation would be. Possibly nothing.



A person may appeal against conviction, or,
a person may appeal against severity of sentence, or,
a person may appeal against conviction and severity of sentence.

But if you don't bother to ask a solicitor for professional advice, then you can listen to some random guys on the internet who are advising you to go to jail instead.


You could do something sensible instead of doing something stupid.

You really should consider getting professional legal advice.

Almost impossible to appeal against Conviction if you pleaded guilty in the first place. To do so generally means that you/your solicitor have to prove that you weren't of sound mind in the first place or that you didn't understand the charges and/or proceedings.

The rest of the post I agree wholeheartedly with.

peteeeed

contact http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/legal_aid_and_advice/criminal_legal_aid.html

Wait a minute E1000 = 24 hours in prison. :eek:

Here is me worrying about the house tax.

Pat Mustard

twowheelsonly wrote: »

Almost impossible to appeal against Conviction if you pleaded guilty in the first place. To do so generally means that you/your solicitor have to prove that you weren't of sound mind in the first place or that you didn't understand the charges and/or proceedings.

The rest of the post I agree wholeheartedly with.

First, I made no suggestion of an appeal against conviction. I listed it as one of the three possible options, in order to comply with the forum charter, which forbids legal advice.

Secondly, what you have said about appealling against conviction is absolutely wrong. An appeal against conviction to the Circuit Court is a full re-hearing of the matter, to include all of the relevant facts and proofs, and there is no difficulty in changing the plea on Appeal.

Indeed, it has been known as a strategy with difficult District Judges, especially in relation to Drink Driving cases. In that regard, a person could plead guilty in the District Court, only to appeal against conviction and severity of sentence in the Circuit Court, and 'keep their powder dry' for a full fight in front of a more reasonable judge, without showing their hand to the State.

Thirdly, you wrote about having to prove that the person was not of sound mind or did not understand the nature of the proceedings. That's completely wrong. As I said, it's a full re-hearing, and the defendant is entitled to plead guilty or not, as he chooses.

ResearchWill

twowheelsonly wrote: »

Almost impossible to appeal against Conviction if you pleaded guilty in the first place. To do so generally means that you/your solicitor have to prove that you weren't of sound mind in the first place or that you didn't understand the charges and/or proceedings.

The rest of the post I agree wholeheartedly with.

Incorrect I have run cases where the person had pleaded in DC and ran full appeal in Circuit Court.

Pat Mustard

twowheelsonly wrote: »

EDIT: Generally you'd only have 14 days to appeal. For an extension of time to appeal you'd have to go to the High Court and then it would only to be to appeal severity of sentence if you already pleaded guilty. The fines might be reduced but then again they might not. IMO, not worth it in this case. (NOT legal advice by the way - rather my understanding of the situation.)

Twowheelsonly, that's not correct either.

The offences mentioned by the OP would have been dealt with in the District Court.

For an extension of time, an application may be made in the District Court again, and it does not matter whether the appeal is against conviction or severity or both.

Van Occupanther

In a similar situation myself. Parking & road tax penal warrants issued and i got a call from my local station yesterday looking for me to go to limerick prison or pay a grand i don't have.

I had been paying the city council other fines and thought these were covered by it. I also didn't receive a summons due to changing address. The council think i may be able to appeal, do i have a case if i didn't receive the summons?

From reading other posts, it doesn't seem i can come to an arrangement to pay the fine off over time. Not very keen on spending a night or two in limerick prison although the Garda did reckon I'll most likely only be there for a few hours. Does anyone know what limerick is like for overcrowding? Is it too late to appeal if the judgement was issued in June 12?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

bugsy1977

my situation is much the same, i owe 1250 for not submitting a tax return,I have to 28th (1 week) to pay it, dont have the money tho, how long b4 I get the call from the guards?

Fred Swanson

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tallaghtmick

Ring provident arrange a loan, it will cost you a good bit but you avoid prison.

JCmanu

I just realised that they spelt my name wrong on the warrant, is there some sort of loop hole based around this... My surname has 'ss' at the end but they have 'sss'.

Anyone know if this gets me off?

Fred Swanson

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theidiots

If you cant afford 1400 in fines then how the hell are you going to survive in another country?

hyperborean

You will do a day or two and get shipped out to make space for real criminals,

gowley

sell your car and pay the fine

JCmanu

I use a toilet brush...

I dunno, maybe I have family or friends living in another country. I guess it makes sense where you got that user name :-/

billy2012

Just do the couple of hours and forget about it.

MadYaker

oceancat wrote: »

Do the time it will only be for a few hours or 1 day max,

I have been into cork prison 3 times for non payment of fines the longest i had to do was an overnight stay on one of the occasions, the other 2 didn't get past the holding cell,

Tis gas it must cost the state some money, they had 2 cops come to my door to escort me to prison, then when i was there they gave me a dinner and when i was released they gave me 20 euro for the train home,

All in all the 3 fines amounted to nearly 4 grand, did a few hours got fed and my fare home and now the fines are gone happy days,

I would have no problem going back again if i ever get another fine.

So this is our justice system? Jesus wept.