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#Post#: 115912--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35MPH in a 30MPH section of Bath Road, London. SJPN received
(with a twist ?)
DIR By: estevenin
Date: April 14, 2026, 7:28 pm
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Latest new from the gatekeepers. I received that mail from the
HMCTS SJS, this was 10 days ago I didn't see it, but they were
basically sending me a form to fill up, apparently this is the
correct procedure :
--- Quote ---
> Understanding your options:
>
>
HTML https://review-magistrates-court-decision.form.service.justice.gov.uk/
>
> (1) You can tell the court someone has falsely given your
details in connection to the offence.
> (2) You can make a Legal Statement in court that you didn't
know about the case.
> (3) You can ask the court to Reopen your case because you
didn't get the opportunity to make your case in court originally
(you'll need to attend a court hearing).
> (4) You can ask the Court to review your fine, because of a
low income, benefits or change of financial circumstances. (you
may need to attend a court hearing). This will not change the
original outcome of your case including any penalty points.
>
> What to do next:
>
> (1) To complete the form click here - Review a magistrates'
court decision form
> (2) The attached document, Single Justice Procedure Notice
(SJPN), has information to help you answer the questions on the
webform. DO NOT post or email the SJPN this is for your records
only.
> (3) At the end of the webform, press submit.
> (4) Once you submit the form, this is then provided to the
relevant court. They will process this in line with their own
processing times and can take up to 6 months for you to hear
from them. Please do not chase this before the 6 months is up.
>
> An email will be sent to Enforcement and Bailiffs (if
involved) to advise them you have made an application for the
court to review your case, any further action is at their
discretion.
--- End Quote ---
In the meantime, I also just received another answer from South
London Magistrates Court, forwarding their conversation :
--- Quote ---
> Good afternoon
>
> Because you pleaded guilty to the matter, your option is to
Appeal against the sentence.
>
> Appeals are heard at the Crown Court, and you need to attend.
You should seek independent legal advice before Appealing as
should you lose your Appeal, you could incur further costs.
>
> I have attached an Appeal form that must be receive at this
email address by 24.04.26 to process within the time limits.
>
> -----------------
>
> From: DIB-London
<DIB-London[member=6517]justice[/member].gov.uk>
> Sent: 09 April 2026 16:26
>
> Good afternoon,
>
> That is correct. He can appeal the sentence.
>
> Kind regards
>
> ========
>
> From: LondonStatDec-Reopen
> Sent: 09 April 2026 11:01
>
> Good morning Legal
>
> This gentleman seeks a reopening, but when you look at his
case he pleaded guilty online and his sentence reflects that the
online plea was taken into account.
>
> He mentions not receiving a Conditional offer from the police,
but this would have been seen by the Legal/Magistrate when
sentencing, so is his only option to Appeal now, rather than
reopen?
>
> Many thanks
>
> Regards
--- End Quote ---
I'm assuming this is the resistance you were mentionning. I'm
ready to send them this answer :
--- Quote ---
> Dear South London MC Administration,
>
> Thank you for your email and for providing the Appeal forms.
>
> I note from the internal correspondence provided that the
Legal Adviser suggested an Appeal is the required route because
the "online plea was taken into account." Respectfully, this
misses the core of my application. While I am aware of the right
to appeal to the Crown Court, I wish to first exercise my right
to apply for a variation of sentence under Section 142 of the
Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.
>
> This application is based on a specific sentencing oversight
regarding the "Fixed Penalty Equivalent" guidance in the
Sentencing Council’s Explanatory Material. This guidance states
that where a Fixed Penalty was unavailable due to administrative
reasons, the offender should not be disadvantaged.
>
> As this is a request to rectify a sentencing oversight rather
than a challenge to the conviction itself, the Magistrates'
Court retains the jurisdiction to hear this in the interests of
justice, without the need for a full Crown Court appeal. To
clarify, my application is not regarding the 33% guilty plea
discount (which was correctly applied), but rather the Court's
failure to apply the Fixed Penalty Equivalent as per the
guidelines.
>
> Furthermore, the sentencing remarks have taken into account
the guilty plea, but provide no indication that my declaration
of income was considered. Based on my net annual income of
£15,391 (£296 per week), the total penalty of £269 appears
disproportionate and significantly exceeds the threshold
suggested by the judicial guidelines for this offence.
>
> A guilty plea does not preclude the Court from exercising its
power to vary a sentence under Section 142. This section exists
specifically to allow a Magistrate to correct such an oversight,
avoiding the need to force a defendant into a costly and
time-consuming Crown Court Appeal process for an error that can
be rectified at the Magistrates' level.
>
> Please could you confirm that this written application will be
placed before a Senior Legal Advisor or a Magistrate for a
formal decision on whether the Court will exercise its Section
142 powers?
>
> Thank you for your assistance.
>
> Yours faithfully
--- End Quote ---
Hopefully it's cordial enough. But given that they'v sent that
online form, is that the way to go or this is another rabbit
hole ? Or should I do both ?
Thanks a lot, I'll be following up on that.
#Post#: 115927--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35MPH in a 30MPH section of Bath Road, London. SJPN received
(with a twist ?)
DIR By: Southpaw82
Date: April 15, 2026, 3:24 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Saying it was the court’s “failure” implies that you were
entitled to be sentenced at the fixed penalty level. You were
not. Rather, the court exercised its discretion not to do so.
You are asking for that discretion to be exercised afresh.
#Post#: 115979--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35MPH in a 30MPH section of Bath Road, London. SJPN received
(with a twist ?)
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: April 15, 2026, 9:27 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Once again, I would cut it down a bit.
As well as that, one of your paragraphs (the one which mentions
the original sentence being disproportionate to the offence) is
factually incorrect. As I pointed out previously, £269 is spot
on for the income you stated and a sentence in accordance with
the normal guidelines.
The issue is that the court has either decided against or failed
to consider sentencing you in accordance with the additional
guidance they have.
The evidence provided to you along with your SJPN (which the
court will have) states quite clearly that a FP offer was sent
and you told the court that you did not receive it. As sp says,
you don’t know whether it was a failure, an oversight or a
simple refusal to apply the guidance. So it is specifically the
issue of that failure or refusal that you would like addressed.
If it was a failure or an oversight, the court should look at it
again. If it was a refusal and the decision had been made in
open court where you attended, you would have been made aware of
the reasons. You are unaware of why the guidance was not applied
because the decision was made under the SJ procedure and you
could not attend.
I suggest you make an application for re-opening via the online
process (apologies, I did not know that option was available). I
would also contact the court directly to tell them you have done
so and include something like this:
“The reason for my application is based solely on the fact that
the sentence was determined on the basis of the normal
sentencing guidelines and not in accordance with the additional
guidance which should be considered where a fixed penalty could
not be accepted.
I am currently unaware whether it was a failure to apply that
guidance or a refusal. The court should have been aware that a
fixed penalty had been offered and they should also have been
aware that I did not receive it. However, it is not clear to me
whether or not they actually had that information when the
sentence was determined.
I would therefore respectfully request again that my application
to reopen my case is considered by the court.”
I would not suggest it was an oversight (because you don’t know
whether it was or not). I would not mention the original
sentence being disproportionate (because it is not).
#Post#: 116125--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35MPH in a 30MPH section of Bath Road, London. SJPN received
(with a twist ?)
DIR By: estevenin
Date: April 16, 2026, 8:48 pm
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Thank you so much for the guidance, I will continue with this
strategy, it does sound much more on point that my long draft. I
will keep that post updated.
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