school fine ( parent or guardian )

Fine_time

This may help someone, a few years back we took our child on holiday, on return we got 2 fines, one each the wife paid but not me.
First mistake was to ask the school as it was later used as evidence against me. i was told to submit the request which they knew they would decline.
The child was not mine but my partners, as i was down as next of kin and living with her i was assumed to be a guardian.
This was not about the £60 later to be £120, but principle.
No lawyers in Norfolk or Suffolk would help go against the county council ( better i pay they said )
anyway off i go to court where I asked for the word Guardian to be broken down as in the Oxford English Dictionary,   , it was broken down into 3 parts , the prosecution agrred i didnt fit  2 of them , and the bench asked the prosecution about the 3rd, which they said i fiited the bill.

the case was ajorned and went to a different court where they bought in a Barrister from london to defend there side.
I was shocked at the way he behaved and what he said to me but stood my ground, The Bench went out and hen they returned they found me not guilty.   

I hope this will help someone in a similar situation

sammyjammy

How much did it cost you to defend the fine?

Fine_time

It cost me nothing , I did it myself , if you are looking after a child in a relationship that is not yours , they cantbreally fine you , if you were married it may be a different case .     

They will try to intimidate you . 

lincroft1710

You being found not guilty does not necessarily set a precedent, especially if it was in a lower Court.


Barristers are paid to prove their client is in the right and that the other side is not credible or reliable. Expect no mercy from them

Fine_time

Yes I’m well versed in court having not lost a case yet .      If you try hard enough you will win , the odds are so stacked against you most give up. 

Exodi

I don't know how I feel about this as advice.

To recommend going, as a litigant in person, to magistrates court, then to county court against the council appointed barrister, armed with a defense involving the Oxford English Dictionary...

I could only begin to imagine the repercussions should you have lost.

Fine_time said:

If you try hard enough you will win , the odds are so stacked against you most give up. 

At least for me, the reason to give up is because I simply don't have the time nor inclination to spend tens if not hundreds of hours preparing defenses and traveling to various courts to argue about a £60 fine for a holiday my partner and I undisputedly took the kids on.

I have a feeling significant leniency was applied to you due to being a LIP.

Fine_time said:

Yes I’m well versed in court having not lost a case yet . 

Are you in a legal profession (which is something you should have mentioned in your OP) or is there any reason you find yourself in court often? I'd assume you're not bragging about 'not having lost a case' if this is the only one you've taken part in.

maman

I'll take @Fine_time's advice as genuine in that they've pointed out that it's worth contesting if the child in question isn't yours.

That being said, I can think of a far  better way that both @Fine_time and partner could have not paid a fine. 

Fine_time

@Exodi,      No I am not in the legal business, I’m a self taught person who left school at 11,   The police, TV licences , councils are all there to take money from you.     In most cases they do not even know the laws they enforce , if you challenge them , which I have on numerous occasions , they respond by sending you to court.  Yes it’s is time consuming , but not costly.   Of course is a bit daunting, but the law is the law , it’s a game , 
they didn’t let me off I can assure you.  And even if I could have afforded a lawyer not one would take on the case because it was against the council. 

Fine_time

@maman

plesse enlighten me , my daughter is  out of school now , but my grandchild has a habit of taking time out . 

Fine_time

@sammyjammy.  It doesn’t cost anything to defend yourself , unless like me you come out of court elated only to find they ticketed your car.        2 appeals denied for the ticket , long and short I never paid the ticket after speaking to the landowners who,told them to revoke it

Marvel1

Fine_time said:

@maman

plesse enlighten me , my daughter is  out of school now , but my grandchild has a habit of taking time out . 

I'm confused, you said in the original post:

Fine_time said:

This may help someone, a few years back we took our child on holiday, on return we got 2 fines, one each the wife paid but not me.
First mistake was to ask the school as it was later used as evidence against me. i was told to submit the request which they knew they would decline.
The child was not mine but my partners, as i was down as next of kin and living with her i was assumed to be a guardian.