drink driving

[windy532]

Further to my previous question,kindly responded to by Chris,I still have a problem not knowing whether or not I was convicted.
Even if I get a copy licence it could invalidate any insurance if I subsequently discover I was.
Obviously I don't want to go through police or court channels.
Any ideas anybody?

[deso]

Windy, you need to stick to the same thread (i.e. "answer" your own question) so people know what's been said before. Your original question and subsequent answers might be of interest to others, but if we need to search for the original thread to make sense of it....

[windy532]

Thanks Deso. OK..my original question was: 15 years ago I was prosecuted by the police for driving over the alchohol limit. I attended court the next day and they would not accept my guilty plea as there were mitigating circumstances. The court alloowed me to leave the UK on a sailing boat as planned,but 6 months later I discovered that my solicitor had not attended the pre-trial review,therefore a warrant was issued.
The police visited my sister a couple of times,but for the last 13 years no contact has been made.
I am still living abroad and have not lived in the UK since.
Trouble is,I now want to drive again and need a copy licence. I don't (obviously) have the original.
I don't know if I was ever convicted and I need to find out in case,after I get a copy licence,I discover I was and invalidate my insurance by failing to declare it.
Chris passed me the relevant links for obtaining a copy licence,but I still need to find out about any possible conviction.
Thanks everybody in advance

[Loosehead]

The trouble is windy, I, and I think others did not really understand. When you go to court you plead guilty or not guilty. There cannot be a mechanism where by one of those options is removed. Therefore I for one am confused about what "Mitigation" there could be. Are you sure you are understanding the situation? Can you clarify? You where probably convicted in your absence and most likely have a fine outstanding and a ban that would probably have been served. You can apply for a copy licence and see what's on it. It will have a convicting court code, which you can then contact and pay any outstanding fine. You should then be ok.

[windy532]

Oh,I see.Thanks Loosehead. The clerk of the court told me not to say any more,after I explained that my drinks had been 'spiked'. The court then told me that I could not post a guilty plea and that I had to see a solicitor.This I did and went back to court that afternoon with the described result. The landlord of the hotel and the bar staff were prepared to testify that they had 'spiked' my drinks. (I had walked in on a party)The reason I don't know about conviction is because I was due to leave the UK the following morning on a sailing boat. The magistrate gave me permission to go and said my solicitor could attend the pre-trial review in my absence as I was not required to attend. I would then be given a hearing date. As I was at sea and out of contact for a while,I did not know my solicitor had not attended. Then I got scared because my state of mind at that time was pretty bad having suffered a nervous breakdown.

[Loosehead]

OK, well the best thing to do is get your known driving record from DVLA and react accordingly.

[windy532]

OK Loosehead thanks for your time