Single Justice Procedure Notice

What do I do?

It is really important that you respond to a SJPN on time. The forms will give you 21 days to respond from the date of service. Once the notice is ‘served’ the countdown begins. So if you were to receive a notice dated 1^st November 2022 it will be served on the 2^nd November and you would have to respond by the 22^nd November to be on time. You can read more about time frames under our ‘Time Limits’ section of the website.

If you do not respond within the 21 days then the Court may continue to convict and sentence you in your absence meaning that you may receive points, a fine or even a disqualification without the opportunity to present your case.

What plea should I enter?

Unfortunately this is not a straight forward question and is a bit of a minefield. It is always important to make sure that you seek advice before making a decision on plea as there may well be a defence that you are unaware of, or you may risk losing credit if you enter a not guilty plea where you do not have a defence.

There are also a number of ways to enter a guilty plea and so it is important that you get it right. Contact us for some free legal advice if you are unsure.

What can I use as mitigation?

As above, this is another minefield. There are a large number of circumstances that may well reduce the seriousness of the offence committed, some of these circumstances may well amount to a Special Reasons Argument (see the ‘Special Reasons Argument’ tab for more information).

Mitigation can range from why you committed the offence to I rely on my licence to take my neighbour to hospital appointments. So again it is always worth getting legal advice on this.

What happens after I respond?

The Court will usually set a date to be considered in a ‘closed Court’ which means that nobody can attend the hearing. It is simply where a Magistrates will sit and go through all of the notices sent over a certain time period and either sentence people in their absence (if they selected not to go to Court) or list a new hearing date for you to attend.

If you have opted not to go to Court, you will receive a letter outlining the sentence and the fine imposed and that will be the end of the matter (unless the Court insist on seeing you, in which case they will list a hearing whether you have asked for one or not).

If however you entered a not guilty plea or you requested a Court hearing, then you will receive a letter in the post from the Court advising you of your new hearing date which you will be required to attend.

What if I am unhappy with the sentence?

If you are unhappy with the sentence given then you do have the right to appeal the decision to the Crown Court. See our appeals section for more information on this or contact us for some free legal advice on whether or not you have good prospects to appeal.