I'm just thinking about dates here... if you're 19, I presume you're in the second year of university. Therefore, you would likely be applying for graduate schemes in 12 months time: most schemes close in November and December (the absolute earliest I'm aware of is the Civil Service fast-track on 28th October).
If you're found guilty, the offence would be 'unspent' for 12 months from the date of conviction. That means that 12 months after conviction, you wouldn't have to declare it.
Depending on your post-graduation plans, you might want to consider if it is important, to try and get this through as quickly as possible, in which pleading guilty to the SJPN might be worthwhile. If you ask for a court date, I'd be surprised if you got one until late November or early December at the absolute earliest - but possibly, you'd get a date in January or beyond. By contrast, a guilty plea to the SJPN could be processed within a couple of weeks and therefore is something you wouldn't need to declare for at least some of the later deadlines next year.
What I'd do is look at this year's dates for any schemes you're interested in. If they have deadlines in late November or in December, you may want to think about not going to court.
The downside of course is that this would guarantee a guilty conviction, with the fine as propsoed; it removes any opportunity to seek mitigation in court or to negotiate a settlement on the day.
If you're found guilty, the offence would be 'unspent' for 12 months from the date of conviction. That means that 12 months after conviction, you wouldn't have to declare it.
Depending on your post-graduation plans, you might want to consider if it is important, to try and get this through as quickly as possible, in which pleading guilty to the SJPN might be worthwhile. If you ask for a court date, I'd be surprised if you got one until late November or early December at the absolute earliest - but possibly, you'd get a date in January or beyond. By contrast, a guilty plea to the SJPN could be processed within a couple of weeks and therefore is something you wouldn't need to declare for at least some of the later deadlines next year.
What I'd do is look at this year's dates for any schemes you're interested in. If they have deadlines in late November or in December, you may want to think about not going to court.
The downside of course is that this would guarantee a guilty conviction, with the fine as propsoed; it removes any opportunity to seek mitigation in court or to negotiate a settlement on the day.
