DaveNewcastle
Established Member
It's unfortunate that I hadn't seen this enquiry earlier. The advice from cuccir, Puffing_Devil and najaB is reliable.
This MUST be handled by a law firm licensed in England (not Scotland) and there is NO POINT in choosing a firm who claims to specialise in Railway fare evasion.
The reason for this is that there is nothing at all about Railway Law that is significant her - it is about 'identity' and nothing else.
There is also no point in speaking to the Courts, as the case has been 'discharged'. It is no longer a Court matter and cannot be re-opened by the Court.
There is an opportunity to make a Statutory Declaration which, although 'out of time', can be justified on the exceptional circumstances. That will 'undo' some of the legal process, including cancelling the fine, though it does not, in itself, lead to an automatic removal of the Criminal Conviction.
If that fails, then an Application can be made to the Criminal Court of Appeal in the name of the accused friend against the Magistrates Court who convicted him. Some law firms might want to name the Director of Public Prosecutions as a second Defendant, for reasons I won't go into here, because it would have been a Private Prosecution which the DPP could, technically, have stopped.
I hope this helps - Good luck
This MUST be handled by a law firm licensed in England (not Scotland) and there is NO POINT in choosing a firm who claims to specialise in Railway fare evasion.
The reason for this is that there is nothing at all about Railway Law that is significant her - it is about 'identity' and nothing else.
There is also no point in speaking to the Courts, as the case has been 'discharged'. It is no longer a Court matter and cannot be re-opened by the Court.
There is an opportunity to make a Statutory Declaration which, although 'out of time', can be justified on the exceptional circumstances. That will 'undo' some of the legal process, including cancelling the fine, though it does not, in itself, lead to an automatic removal of the Criminal Conviction.
If that fails, then an Application can be made to the Criminal Court of Appeal in the name of the accused friend against the Magistrates Court who convicted him. Some law firms might want to name the Director of Public Prosecutions as a second Defendant, for reasons I won't go into here, because it would have been a Private Prosecution which the DPP could, technically, have stopped.
I hope this helps - Good luck