Asked by Vinolin on 24-09-2015 20:41:53
Question posted in the Criminal Law category relating to Gauteng
Question posted in the Criminal Law category relating to Gauteng
Hi
I in june 2014 I had a received a written appear in court fine. For deive 140km in a 100km zone. However i could not make the court date. I have tried to follow up with the court back then for a new court date or notice however i have not recieved anything thus far. I have been on the Aarto website and there is no warrant of arrest however it states the court case is pending. How can i resolve this. I am willing to go to court and pay what i need to. I just want to get this cleared before i find out in a road block. Please can you advise on my options.
I in june 2014 I had a received a written appear in court fine. For deive 140km in a 100km zone. However i could not make the court date. I have tried to follow up with the court back then for a new court date or notice however i have not recieved anything thus far. I have been on the Aarto website and there is no warrant of arrest however it states the court case is pending. How can i resolve this. I am willing to go to court and pay what i need to. I just want to get this cleared before i find out in a road block. Please can you advise on my options.
Further information relating to Question:
I was stopped by the traffic office and he did issue me a written summons. Also does this mean i have criminal offensive. Can i do anything before that does happen? Also if i do go to court. Can they arrest me?
Message from the Lawyer
Posted by Att. Patrick on 25-09-2015 09:19:28
Hi there and thank you for your question,
If you say that you were provided with a court date on the written notice, then I'm going to assume that there was no option listed of paying a monetary fine. That's normally the case when you go more than 40% over the speed limit.
Your only option would then be to attend court on the given date.
If you miss your court date, the prosecutor would then draw up a summons (instead of a notice to appear) and that summons would need to be served on you personally. That summons would then have another court date listed in it. You should ensure that you go to court on that date.
If you miss that date, and the prosecutor can prove to the court that the summons was served on you personally, then the Magistrate will authorise a warrant of arrest for you. That is when you need to worry about being stopped at a road block.
The process is typically: first written notice to appear --> second written notice to appear (if a fine was an option, otherwise you don't get a second notice to appear) --> summons to appear in court (served on you personally) --> warrant of arrest.
You could try to go to court now and speak to the prosecutor about your matter, however the prosecutor might not have your file, and also he might have so many cases that he doesn't know which is yours. He might just say "wait for the summons to arrive, then come back to court on that date"
The written "summons" that the traffic officer gave you isn't really a summons. It's a notice to appear.
You don't have a criminal offence until you've been found guilty in court. Don't worry.
If you go to court they won't arrest you. Simply because the police will need the original warrant of arrest in their possession before they can arrest you, and they wouldn't have that with them ...
If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.
Att. Patrick
Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow up questions please use the REPLY button and ask. If I did not answer the question you thought you were asking, please respond with the specific question you wanted answered. I hope you found my answer helpful, and you have finished asking your questions, please click on the GREEN ACCEPT button in order to mark the question as closed.
If you say that you were provided with a court date on the written notice, then I'm going to assume that there was no option listed of paying a monetary fine. That's normally the case when you go more than 40% over the speed limit.
Your only option would then be to attend court on the given date.
If you miss your court date, the prosecutor would then draw up a summons (instead of a notice to appear) and that summons would need to be served on you personally. That summons would then have another court date listed in it. You should ensure that you go to court on that date.
If you miss that date, and the prosecutor can prove to the court that the summons was served on you personally, then the Magistrate will authorise a warrant of arrest for you. That is when you need to worry about being stopped at a road block.
The process is typically: first written notice to appear --> second written notice to appear (if a fine was an option, otherwise you don't get a second notice to appear) --> summons to appear in court (served on you personally) --> warrant of arrest.
You could try to go to court now and speak to the prosecutor about your matter, however the prosecutor might not have your file, and also he might have so many cases that he doesn't know which is yours. He might just say "wait for the summons to arrive, then come back to court on that date"
The written "summons" that the traffic officer gave you isn't really a summons. It's a notice to appear.
You don't have a criminal offence until you've been found guilty in court. Don't worry.
If you go to court they won't arrest you. Simply because the police will need the original warrant of arrest in their possession before they can arrest you, and they wouldn't have that with them ...
If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.
Att. Patrick
Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow up questions please use the REPLY button and ask. If I did not answer the question you thought you were asking, please respond with the specific question you wanted answered. I hope you found my answer helpful, and you have finished asking your questions, please click on the GREEN ACCEPT button in order to mark the question as closed.
Message from the client
Hi thank you for your response.
I am afraid the summons has not come through as it has been a year and I have not recieved anything. Can it come through my PO Box? Also what do I do if I have not yet recieved the summons and the court date is over? Furthermore can you advise on which court I should be going to resolve this matter.
I am afraid the summons has not come through as it has been a year and I have not recieved anything. Can it come through my PO Box? Also what do I do if I have not yet recieved the summons and the court date is over? Furthermore can you advise on which court I should be going to resolve this matter.
Message from the Lawyer
Posted by Att. Patrick on 25-09-2015 16:52:46
Hi there,
If you haven't received the summons, then you can't really do anything.
The summons must be served on you personally.
If you've missed the court date, you'll need to wait for the summons to arrive.
If the court was written on the original notice to appear, that's the court that you should go to.
My advice is to wait until the summons arrives.
If you haven't received the summons, then you can't really do anything.
The summons must be served on you personally.
If you've missed the court date, you'll need to wait for the summons to arrive.
If the court was written on the original notice to appear, that's the court that you should go to.
My advice is to wait until the summons arrives.
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