What Happens When You Break a Law You Didn’t Know About

It seems like people are breaking laws that they did not even know existed just about every day, and for good reason. Thousands of new laws go into effect each year, and even those that work in the legal system have a hard time keeping up with the changes. The average person could never know every law that is on the books, yet many are being cited for breaking laws that they weren’t even aware existed.

What happens when you break a law you didn’t know about?

Your Day in Court

When you break the law, you will be given a summons that requires you pay a fine or appear in court. If you didn’t know that you broke the law, you always have the option to go to court and dispute the charges. One thing to remember, ignorance is not a defense, and despite you not knowing this was a crime and that you couldn’t possibly know about the tens of thousands of laws on the books, the judge will not simply toss the case based on the fact you didn’t know. Although you provide your side of the story and how your intentions were not to break a law, if it is on the books, the judge usually has little room to simply side with you.

Honest Mistakes are Crimes?

With thousands of new laws being added on the books yearly, chances are pretty good you are breaking more laws than you even realize. Perhaps you packed your fishing knife in your tackle box and were heading to your favorite fishing hole. When you were pulled over in school zone for a broken tail light and the officer found the knife, chances are good you didn’t know it was illegal to have a knife in a school zone. That ticket could be costly, and you had no idea you were breaking a law, in fact, you have been doing it for years.

Getting Legal Representation

The ignorance defense has little weight in court, but the help of a skilled local criminal lawyer does. These local lawyers are in the business of not only knowing and learning all the laws on the books today, they are constantly having to update their systems when these new laws are introduced each year. While pleading ignorance won’t work, a skilled attorney can present your case in a way that gives the judge the opportunity to toss the case. Whether noting your history of no criminal activity or how you are an upstanding member of your community, your lawyer will present the case in a way that allows the judge to legally drop the charge.

As more of these laws are added to legislation, more innocent people are going to be breaking the law without even realizing it. The best defense for those who aren’t willing to pay for something they didn’t intentionally do is to reach out to the criminal lawyers Sydney professionals so they can fight on your behalf to get the charges lessened or the case dismissed. These legal professionals understand that knowledge is your best defense, and they will consult with you first, then fight on your behalf to get the best possible outcome.