Traffic Offence Case - Legal Representation?

[impactX]

Hi all,

I have a friend who's being charged with an offence of "Careless Driving." The case will be heard at one of the Magistrates' Courts in HK by a Special Magistrate (lower level of the court system).

Other than having a barrister or a solicitor representing him and self representation, can a normal joe represent him for cross-examination, etc?

Thanks in advance!

[KnowItAll]

You don't need a barrister for lower courts.

What is the worst case scenario? Might be emotionally cheaper to hire a solicitor.

[impactX]

You don't need a barrister for lower courts.

What is the worst case scenario? Might be emotionally cheaper to hire a solicitor.

Worst case scenario is just a fine, my guess is probably around 2.5k-3k or so. Just that my friend doesn't know much about the law and he wouldn't be able to defend himself very well. I am not a lawyer; however I was a peace officer in another country before. From my experience, their investigation was flawed right off the start. So I am wondering if I am allowed to defend him instead?

How much is it to hire a solicitor?

Thanks very much for your help!

[KnowItAll]

Solicitor will cost thousands an hour. I do know you can represent your self as a litigant, not sure about defendant.. You would think it should be possible. Check with the contacts listed on judiciary.gov.hk they usually reply in 48 hours

[Skyhook]

What did your friend do on the road to be charged with careless driving ?

Are there any details surrounding the circumstances of his/her alleged culpability, that can delineate why they were charged with careless driving?

If you have a clear case of over enthusiasm by the police, its possible that during a face to face court hearing, that the existing charge will be lessoned, providing you have indisputable counter facts.

Unless, the police didn't collect enough data from the scene of the alledged offense, of what I assume was a car accident that your friend was involved in, you might have your work cut out.

In theory your friend could nominate you to speak to the court with counter data via a simple presentation. Who your friend nominates to defend him/her, to provide pertinent info for the the judge to consider, may not warrant the extra expense of hiring a solicitor, ending up with the same judgement result.

Just stick with presenting the facts, and the judge will consider both sides, and be able to reach a verdict based on the information provided.

[impactX]

It was in a small 2-lane roundabout. Friend is exiting the roundabout at the first exit from lane 2, the right front of car2 from lane 1 hit my friend's car's left rear quarterpanel. Both my friend and car2 got into the roundabout from the same entrance. Their speed of travel in the roundabout is relatively low, around 10-20km/h top.

From what I see, the officers went tunnelvision in their investigation. One investigation officer called up my friend a few days after the incident and said "you know you are wrong right" before my friend was interviewed.

In the Road Users' Code on the Transportation Department's Website:
Transport Department - Roundabouts

"When in a roundabout, look out for and show consideration to other vehicles crossing in front of you, especially those intending to leave by the next exit."

If car2 hits my friend's car front or side doors, I think the charge is justified. But the fact is that he hit my friend's car's rear quarter panel. From my experience, at the low speed that they were travelling at, if the driver of car2 showed some consideration, my friend's car could have been cleared of car2's way before impact.

Not much data was collected at the scene by the officers according to my friend. However, they must have passed some judgement to the investigation officer, hence the phone call couple days later telling that my friend was wrong before the investigation even started.

Just wondering, is there a way I could request for all the materials that will be used against my friend in court from the court / police (like police notes, witness notes, evidence) etc to prepare for the case in Hong Kong? I know we can back in Canada...