13 May Bail before Chief Justice/Fines to match ability to pay
Bail before Chief Justice
It was an interesting experience appearing and applying for bail in criminal matters before the Chief Justice sitting at the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on 29 April 2015. It was a first for the State having the Chief Justice sit at a suburban court and was recently reported in the ABC news here.
Mangan Ey & Associates made 3 successful bail applications before the Chief Justice who following his sitting suggested that there needs to be a link between the fine imposed for an offence and the offender’s ability to pay. We would absolutely support this suggestion.
“How do I avoid these fines?”
Too often we are seing mandatory minimum penalties imposed on people that have no capacity to pay that amount. An obvious example of that is a first offender who pleads guilty to drink driving and will be slugged $1100 along with impounding fees of approximately $900. There are ways and means around getting slugged these fees so we suggest you contact us for advice should you be facing any fine for a traffic offence in Adelaide.