Asked by the Customer on 12-05-2021 11:34:43
Question posted in the Criminal Law category relating to Free State

Hi, I need some advise and assitance 

I was arrested for speeding in warden. and need to go to court on the 3rd of June. 

Firstly i am worried about getting a criminal record on my name.

Do i need to hire a lawyer for the court date? 

Do i hire a lawer in Warden since its about 3 hours away from where i live?

Should i just go and plead guilty. 

I have never been arrested before or had to attend court

Please advise  

Posted by Att. Patrick on 12-05-2021 15:02:02

Hi there and thank you for your question,

I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will assist you with your question. Please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question. If you have a new question, you must please open a new thread.

Please keep in mind that our discussions is for general information purposes only. Our engagement on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. 

I assume that when you were arrested, you were arrested on the spot and not via a "speeding fine" which was posted to you?

Were you taken to the SAPS office and formally charged?

Did you appear in court the next morning, or were you released with a warning to appear in court on 3 June?

Out of interest, what speed were you travelling and in what zone?

Att. Patrick

Yes, I was driving with my family and Passed warden, i then see a police vehicle behind me. i moved left then he moved left then only did i realise that he was pulling me over. he said i was speeding and needed to follow him back to where they were trapping. about 2km away from where he stopped me.
They showed me the camera and said i was doing 167km/h on a 120km/h zone.
I was asked to follow them to the police station. that's where i was formally charged, and was asked to pay R2000.00 Bail.
and given a court date of 3 June on the bail receipt. ( i did see that he also made a mistake on the Bail receipt court date making it 3 June 2020 instead of 2021.

Posted by Att. Patrick on 13-05-2021 10:08:24

Okay, thanks for clarifying that. 

The fact that the date says 2020 instead of 2021 makes no difference. You will be expected to appear in court on 3 June 2021. So you really should go.

Since you were travelling more than 30km/h over the speed limit, the Magistrate needs to set the fine taking into account all of your personal circumstances. You will be able to explain what you can afford and what you can't, and the Magistrate will then set the fine.

Furthermore, there is a risk that the Magistrate suspends your driving licence for a period of time. Maybe 6 months. 

Also, you will then receive a criminal record for speeding. 

This is all on the assumption that you plead guilty, and admit that you were speeding.

If you don't want to plead guilty, then you will need to hire a lawyer to assist you in defending the charges. Basically, the traffic cops will need to come to court in order to prove to the court that you were speeding and properly trapped along the road.