Driving Offence Solicitors
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Appeals

Reopening the case at the Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court Appeals and High Court Appeals

Our Appeal Successes

In 2023, we have had 6 concluded appeals.

5 were allowed with an 83% success rate in appeals against conviction.

Only 1 appeal was lost!

Losing a defended case is a rarity for the Geoffrey Miller team but when a client is wrongly convicted, we will always recommend an appeal against that conviction. Between 2016 and 2023 we had 61 appeals against conviction that are concluded. 43 of those cases were successful and the appeal was allowed.

Total Appeals (all offences) Appeals Allowed Appeals Dismissed Appeals Success Rate
61 43 18 71%

If you have already been convicted and want to look into appealing, whether it is an appeal against your conviction or sentence, let “Miss Justice” and her team ensure you don’t remain a victim of a miscarriage of justice! We find that wrongful convictions in the Magistrates’ Court are widespread but when a case is appealed with expert representation, it is highly likely that a conviction will be overturned.

In addition to regularly appealing against motoring convictions, we also win most appeals against sentence we get involved in. We have particular success in appealing totting up decisions that have gone against our clients and exceptional hardship arguments were not upheld (particularly where they represented themselves at the Magistrates’ Court.)

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Please note we only deal with motoring cases in England and Wales and are unable to assist with cases in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Not Sure What to Do About Appealing Your Conviction?

So why is it likely that even though you have been convicted, we think you should have been found NOT GUILTY? If you’re innocent you should surely be found innocent? In an ideal world, where the law is interpreted correctly, yes. However, it is often the case that the technical issues in motoring cases are simply too complicated for many non-specialist lawyers to grasp, let alone the Magistrates deciding your fate.

Magistrates or Justices of the Peace (JPs) are volunteers from all walks of life EXCEPT THE LEGAL ARENA. They deal with around 95 per cent of criminal cases in England and Wales. They will almost always deal with lower level motoring offences in the Magistrates’ Court such as speeding and drink driving. However, they often do not possess the intricate legal knowledge to be able to fully understand the technical issues in motoring cases. It is no surprise that these well meaning volunteers often get it wrong. Take a look at the sorrowful tale of our client, Mr Wannell, on our blog, who despite overwhelming evidence to show the breath testing machine he had tried to blow into was faulty, making it impossible for him to blow into it, the Magistrates in Brighton ignored the evidence presented to them and convicted him. Thankfully we were successful when we appealed his case at Lewes Crown Court and we recovered 100% of his legal costs in the process.

Even if your case was heard before a District Judge, which can sometimes happen at Magistrates’ Court level, you may find that the judge was hell bent on convicting you despite a lack of admissible evidence against you.

Whilst we may be stating the obvious, we believe there is no point crying over spilt milk, you are where you are… let Geoffrey Miller Solicitors take you on the right road now and lead you to the appeal courts to overturn your conviction.

There are 3 main routes to appeal

1. Reopening the case at the Magistrates’ Court

If you have been convicted as a result of a mistake or you did not know about the case against you, we can arrange for the case to be reopened. This is not an appeal but using this method we can effectively start again and prepare the case for you. This is only worth doing if you actually want to defend the charge against you so even if you were convicted for something you knew nothing about, you may want to let the conviction stand if you would have accepted the penalty had you known about the case. (Most common in speed camera cases where you were not stopped by the police etc)

2. Crown Court Appeal

If you think the decision to convict you was because the Magistrates didn’t understand the facts of your case, you are best taking your appeal to the Crown Court where there will be a complete rehearing of your case.

3. High Court Appeal

There are 2 appeal routes to take your case to the High Court:

1. It is possible to judicially review a decision made at the Magistrates’ Court or at the Crown Court.

OR

2. We can ask the High Court to consider an appeal on a specific point of law (Appeal By Way of Case stated) you feel the Magistrates got wrong.

If you are unsuccessful on appeal the penalty imposed can be increased, and you will have to pay the Court costs, which could be several thousand pounds.

Appeal Costs

The costs of an appeal will vary considerably depending on the offence type and route to appeal you wish to take. If selecting our cost effective “Finest Bronze Package“, fees for the most simple of appeals will start at £3000 plus VAT and can range up to fees in double figures for High Court Appeals. It is best to discuss your case with us so we can give a more accurate fee estimate. If your appeal is upheld, you may be entitled to an order for a contribution for previous costs paid to a previous firm for the Magistrates’ Court case if paid for on a private basis. The level of reimbursement varies and this is best discussed with us when you get in touch.

†Figures include successful appeals and exclude cases lost that are the subject of appeal as at 31st December 2023.

Not Sure What to Do?

Most people who get in touch with our team of motor offence expert solicitors are uncertain of their options. They are unaware of any legal defences that may be available and find it difficult to believe that it might be possible to defend the drink driving offence charge they face by using loopholes that apply to the rich and famous! We do represent celebrities but we also represent many hardworking motorists like Brian and we want to help you make the right choice about what you do next.

We are always more than happy to chat things through with potential clients Free of Charge. Call us now on Freephone 0800 1389 123 to speak to one of our specialist motoring offence solicitors. It is only once you decide to instruct us that payment will become necessary and we can often arrange installment plans to assist you. Many satisfied clients have thanked us for offering this free consultation service as it has prevented them from following inaccurate non-expert advice which could have led to them accepting a driving ban unnecessarily.

If you would like to spend more time browsing on the site before you get in touch, make sure you have a look at our specialist motor offence guidance features such as our drink driving penalties calculator which will help you to determine the penalty you may face if convicted and our money saving calculator which helps to outline some of the hidden costs of accepting a conviction.

We think we are simply the best in the business but if you are not satisfied in taking our word for it, our unique “ask our clients” testimonials scheme allows you to contact previous clients of the firm to seek a completely independent reference about us and what we might be able to do for you.

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Geoffrey Miller Solicitors are specialists defending drivers nationwide for all types of driving offences. Call our team of expert driving offence solicitors for some free initial advice.

You can also book an appointment with Jeanette Miller a.k.a. Miss Justice using our online booking system. If Jeanette is unavailable for your preferred date and time you can book an appointment with a member of our legal team. Please have as much information about your enquiry before the call e.g. Date of Hearing, Paperwork etc.

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ASK OUR CLIENTS

Still not sure if you should instruct us to help you?

Try our Interactive Testimonial Scheme - “Ref Me” is a voluntary scheme we ask satisfied clients to participate in. Where you see the “Ask Our Clients” form, you can send an email to a previous client of the firm and ask them any question(s) you like about us.

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Do You Want To Feel Like Brian?

Speeding Solicitors

Take a look at this live footage taken from ITV’s documentary "Driving Me Crazy" showing our client, Brian Wiltshire walking out of Preston Crown Court after securing a victory in appeal against a speeding conviction. This could be you…

CALCULATOR TOOLS

Use our calculator tools to find out what motoring offence penalties or financial costs you could be facing if convicted.

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PRICING STRUCTURES

We have developed a number of pricing structures to suit clients on most income levels. To some clients minimising the level of their legal costs is as important as achieving your objective with an acquittal or damage limitation on penalty…

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