Going to court for drunk & disorderly - fine?

Sqem

I have a court appearance coming up shortly for a charge of drunk and disorderly. I am aware the maximum penalty that can be imposed is a £1000 fine, but I cannot find much information a to what the "average" fine that is dished out might be.

I only ask as I am already paying the court £100 a month for an existing fine and after pleading guilty to the previous charge, my job has been severely affected and my earnings have had to be reduced significantly. My current outgoings are £1100 per month, before I've even bought food whereas my income is now £1086 per month.

I have no idea how I will afford another fine, so if anyone has any suggestions as to the size of the fine the magistrate may hand down, I would be very grateful indeed!

Marktheshark

What evidence of your guilt do they have ?
Were you seen acting drunk and disorderly by police officers ?

Sqem

Marktheshark wrote: »

What evidence of your guilt do they have ?
Were you seen acting drunk and disorderly by police officers ?

I was arrested by a police officer as I was annoying him, at which point he pushed me and I told him, a little uncouthly, that I wasn't all that happy with his behaviour.

PasturesNew

If you're £14/month short of breaking even... how did you afford the beers?

Marktheshark

And do you have any witnesses that saw the police officer assault you ?

Sqem

PasturesNew wrote: »

If you're £14/month short of breaking even... how did you afford the beers?

At that point in time, my monthly income was closer to £2000 per month.

And do you have any witnesses that saw the police officer assault you ?

There will have been several members of the public that saw it, but nobody I know or have details for.

Marktheshark

Sqem wrote: »

At that point in time, my monthly income was closer to £2000 per month.



There will have been several members of the public that saw it, but nobody I know or have details for.

Looks like you will be pleading guilty then.
What was the last conviction for ?
If it was drunk and disorderly a fine will be the least of your problems.

DCFC79

Cut back on your outgoings.

Yellabowley

Marktheshark wrote: »

And do you have any witnesses that saw the police officer assault you ?

This is a man who was drunk, was in his own words 'annoying a police officer' and was sufficiently close to the said Police Officer to have to be pushed away. On the face of it, it sounds as though the officer would have very little difficulty in explaining why he assaulted him.


At the end of the day it sounds as though you're going to court to accept the punishment for your actions rather than appeal it. In relation to the question that you've actually asked it's very difficult to tell. There are a number of factors affecting it. How much you earn, what your offending history is, how seriously the magistrate judges what you've actually done on this occasion as well as any mitigating circumstances you may have.


The best person to advise you is a qualified defence solicitor. You'll be allocated one on the day at court free of charge but feel free to get in touch with one beforehand if you need advice. Most will give you a free initial consultation.

Sqem

Marktheshark wrote: »

Looks like you will be pleading guilty then.
What was the last conviction for ?
If it was drunk and disorderly a fine will be the least of your problems.

The last conviction was failure to provide a specimen of breath.

Cut back on your outgoings.

The figure I have quoted is after cutting back. The only thing I can still cut back on slightly is my electricity usage. I cannot stop paying my rent (I have a 9 month contract left on my house), I cannot stop paying council tax, water, insurance etc.

EssexExile

Sounds like an "A" fine, half a week's income, may be more if previous offence was similar. Could just be added to your existing fines account, if your circumstances have changed since the last fine tell the magistrates or fines officer if they use one. Repayment can be renegotiated.

New Year's Resolution - don't get so drunk & be good.