Eastleigh, Hampshire -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/01/2015 -- Richard Webster & Co, a legal team in Hampshire, has commented on the news that motorists will soon be allowed to enter a formal plea online for minor motoring offences after a successful scheme was recently piloted.
A new scheme, named "Make A Plea" programme and originally trialled in the Greater Manchester area, will see drivers alleged to have committed motoring offences be given the ability to go online and enter an initial plea using either a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer at any time of day.
The changes, which take effect nationally later in the month, are expected to help alleviate the courts of the millions of motoring offences they have to deal with on a yearly basis.
The move was welcomed by Edmund King, AA president, who said: "We welcome the use of technology but we make a plea to the 500,000 drives using mobile phones at the wheel not to 'make their plea' from the wheel of the car or they could end up making another plea."
ShaileshVara, Courts Minister, explained: "Digital technology gives us an opportunity to make the justice system simpler, clearer and faster - and part of this means reducing or removing the unnecessary movement of paper, and people, around the system.
"The new 'Make a Plea' service is reducing case time and costs for the courts and the police, ensuring that they can focus on the most complex cases. It makes it easy, simple and quick for people to access justice."
However, Richard Webster& Co, a top provider of legal services, including motoring offence services, believes the move could set a potentially dangerous precedent, leading to motorists receiving fines without proper review or defence.
A spokeswoman for the company said: "The new system will definitely make things easier but one of our concerns is that many motorists will now accept guilty pleas out of nothing more than convenience, foregoing the right to a proper defence and voluntarily losing cases that they could otherwise win if they had the help of a lawyer.
"At Richard Webster & Co we have a team of lawyers who specialise in motoring offences and have helped many people to win cases where they were unjustly accused of an offence they didn't commit."
About Richard Webster & Co
Richard Webster & Co is a solicitors in Hampshire who specialise in an array of legal services, including employment law, conveyancing, commercial litigation, judicial reviews, employment law, and motoring offences.
For more information about their services, visit www.richardwebster.com
Media Contact
Company name: Richard Webster
Tel: 0203 475 4321
Website: www.richardwebster.com
Contact Person: Ray Purewal
Email: rp@astonbrooke.co.uk
Address: 30 Leigh Road
Eastleigh Hampshire
SO50 9DT