Dear Sir,

I received a parking fine this morning (which also happens to be my birthday) for parking my car on a pavement outside the garage at which it is to be serviced. Whilst trying to establish if this truely is a parking infraction, which I confirmed it is, I found a link to the Telegraph's story about Mr. Robert de Crittenden.

Knowing a little about Constitutional Law I found the information very interesting and would like to challenge my ticket using the argument that it is unconstitutional, do you have any advice or a draft letter I can use in my challenge?

I would also like to know if the council takes me to court and secures a conviction what the likely consequences are? In particular whether I would have to pay the court costs and the penalty charge, how the conviction would affect me and whether I would have to serve a custodial sentence? Finally, could the council instruct a debt collection agency to collect the penalty charge prior to taking me court?

Many thanks for your help, Emma.

Emma,

You better pay the fine. The loophole that you have been made aware of is being closed. If you test the patience of the court with what you may have been lead to believe to be a means to escape a fine, you may find yourself in deeper trouble.

If you really want to know what to do, I suggest consulting a lawyer.

Emma
Check out this link:
http://www.bwmaonline.com/Legal%20-%20New%20doubts%20-%20Thoburn%20conviction.htm

Emma,

After reading the BWMA view, I suggest that you do a search on the Internet for "Feet of Fines" and decide for yourself whether or not the 1689 meaning of the word "fine" is the same as today's meaning.