Ask me anything about fighting your traffic ticket (Speeding, Parking, etc.)

ak-47 wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 10:26 am

Djino,

I received a ticket for the offence of "Fail to stop on right for emergency vehicle; contrary to HTA". Section 159(1)(a). He wrote a fine of $85, but the correct set fine should be $400. Is this considered a fatal error?

Basically what happened was I made an improper left turn into a neighbourhood road (proceed contrary to sign at intersections), and after I made the turn he had his lights flashing on the opposite side of the road about 50m from the intersection. I didn't know he was after me so I just kept driving straight. He made a U-turn, caught up to me, and gave me two tickets.

Every person is guilty of the offence of driving carelessly who drives a vehicle or street car on a highway without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition his or her licence or permit may be suspended for a period of not more than two years. 2009, c. 5, s. 41.

159. (1) The driver of a vehicle, upon the approach of a police department vehicle with its bell or siren sounding or with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light or red and blue light, or upon the approach of an ambulance, fire department vehicle or public utility emergency vehicle with its bell or siren sounding or its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light, shall immediately bring such vehicle to a standstill,
(a) as near as is practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway and parallel therewith and clear of any intersection;

yyz2hkg wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 11:58 am

Djino,

I received a parking ticket over the weekend. Supposedly committed the parking infraction of (Code No.5) "Park Signed Highway during prohibited (Times/Days) and Time of infraction of 2039hrs. I remember clearly looking at the sign and it states that I am able to park on Saturday from 0800-2100 and purchased a ticket until 2100hrs, but still received a ticket. I went back to the area I where I supposedly committed the infraction and noted the officer wrote the closest location in which I thought was incorrect. This makes a difference because it's past the pole where parking is not permitted, but the ticket states I was parking during prohibited times as opposed to parking prohibited...so do I follow post #44 and do nothing or do I have a case to take it straight to trial. BTW, I took photos and have the ticket receipt from that day.

2) Parking Tickets

- GTA: Consider filing a parking ticket dispute -> http://www.toronto.ca/pay-toronto-ticke ... cation.pdf

djino wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 9:18 am

I would keep note of this as this will assist with your stay argument over an adjournment.



Another item that can assist as it shows the prosecutor's office not being very cooperative.



And of course make note of this. This being the most important part of your argument showing that they are not giving you legible material to be able to prepare a defence. And since this was their answer, a adjournment will not change this outcome.



Whether they have time to do something or not is not relevant. It is not your fault that the prosecutor is too busy to handle your case properly. They do have the option of dropping your charges if the work load they currently have is too much for them.



Great. Bring all of this with you on Wednesday.



If this witness is present at court, you will need to mention that you requested witness will say statements as part of your disclosure request which is another item you did not receive. If the witness is not there in court, then there is no need to mention this.

If you proceed to trial and during the officer's testimony, the officer quotes any statements made by the other driver(s) (statements that you did not receive through disclosure), you will need to object. Specifically say "objection, hearsay" or "what is the relevancy?". Whatever the prosecutor responds with, you will follow up with that you requested witness statements through disclosure which was not given. If the justice didn't agree with your stay motion, this objection will force his hand. You argued you didn't get disclosure and now the officer testifying to statements made by witnesses, statements which you requested through disclosure that you have never seen. How can you prepare a defence against something they won't show you?



There is nothing you can do about this for the moment unless you proceed to trial. You would have to provide testimony stating what you actually told the officer and then make the argument that the officer is unreliable having confused the two statements.

----------

AT TRIAL

Arrive at the court at least 30 minutes before your trial is to begin and just wait outside with everyone in your court session. Keep an eye out for the police officer and any the other driver. At some point the prosecutor will arrive and enter the court room in which everyone will be allowed to enter to discuss any plea deals/options with the prosecutor before the court session begins. Feel free to talk with the prosecutor. Tell him/her that you are still proceeding with your stay request due to improper disclosure. The prosecutor will either say that they will drop the charges or they will present a plea deal which you would reject. If no agreement is made, then they will ask you to sit down as he/she continues to speak with others before the court session begins.

When the Justice enters the court room, the court session has officially begun. When your name is called, the prosecutor will say that they are withdrawing the charges, or he/she will say nothing and the court clerk will ask you how you wish to plea.

You say..."Before entering a plea Your Worship, I would like to motion to stay my trial as my rights to disclosure under section 7 of the Charter have been violated". Expect the Justice to question the prosecutor on why you have not received disclosure. The Prosecutor will most likely say that they gave you disclosure. You will then need to present your request and state what is missing along with WHY it is important.

---

Homework
- Prepare notes for yourself that will contain the missing items you didn't receive
- Under each item, explain why this is important (I discuss them in my responses above). But feel free to ask me any questions about that if you need help there.

There is a good chance that after you have stated why you need the missing items that the Justice will be inclined to grant an adjournment. You will need to present reasons for why an Adjournment is unreasonable
- State your communications with the prosecutor's office since your first meeting with them
- Make clear arguments stating how he/she has mishandled your case and how postponing trial will not make things right.

---

If you need assistance with any of the above, reply. If at trial after going through all that and the Justice still insist that an Adjournment is the right decision. Make note of the Justice's explanation for this. It is important that any ruling made comes with a proper explanation as to why the ruling is made. And if an adjournment happens, let it be. We can then discuss options for what you should do at your next trial date.

djino

Al400 wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 2:42 pm

djino,
Is the officer considered a witness? Shouldn't I get his "witness will say statement" too? How can I prepare for his statement if I do not have it?

roadrunner17 wrote: ↑

Jul 24th, 2012 2:45 pm

Hi djino

I was followed and stopped by cop while I was on phone(It was on speaker but of course I was holding the phone). But officer gave me break and reduced it to "failed to surrender insurance card" as I wasn't able to find it in my messy glove box.

Reason why he reduced it was because my wife was in hospital and in labor giving birth to our son.

I choose option for early resolution with prosecutor, showed him my pink slip which I ordered from my insurance company, letter which shows I was insured when I was stopped and also birth certificate that my wife was in labor therefore I was in rush and could not find the insurance slip.

Prosecutor said since officer already gave me a break he is not willing to drop the charge but offered me reduced fine. I declined and went for trial option.

My questions are :

1. If I found guilty of this charge will it effect my insurance rates?
2. Can prosecutor argue in court I was originally stopped for talking on phone?
3. If I tell JP on trial date, that insurance card was in the glove box but I wasn't able to find it because I was rushing as my wife was in labor. Will this be a good defense?
4. Any other way to approach this charge?

For now I am waiting for my trial date and I will ask for disclosures once I receive the trial date. Thanks

djino wrote: ↑

Jul 24th, 2012 3:13 pm

Yes, you can expect your insurance to increase if convicted on this offence. See Failure To Produce Evidence Of Insurance here.



Yes, depends what is shown in disclosure. You should request disclosure ASAP using the document on the first post. This will provide all evidence of what will be shown/discussed in court.



When you provide a defence during trial, it should be a Reasonable Doubt defence OR a Due Diligence defence.

Reasonable Doubt Defence: The officer/evidence is unreliable. You are producing arguments to show the officer/evidence is flawed - you are creating reasonable doubt that you committed the offence.

Due Diligence Defence: Yes, you committed the offence, but you should not be convicted of it. You did not believe you were committing an offence as you took reasonable steps to avoid committing the offence - you are morally innocent.

Your arguments/defence should fit into one of those categories. If it cannot, then you will find it difficult to get a Justice to side with you.

EDIT: There is a possible Defence of Necessity you could provide though I'm not sure it will work on a failure to provide insurance offence. This.







This is the best way to go about it for now. Wait for disclosure, then you can come back and we can discuss options at trial.

djino

roadrunner17 wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 4:46 pm

Hi djino

I got Trial date and disclosures too. Durham courthouse is fast. My Trial date is in mid November.
This is what I received in disclosures basically nothing. If you remember I was stopped for talking on cell phone but officer charged me for not able to surrender insurance card. In disclosures it's not mentioned anywhere so does that mean prosecutor cannot bring it up in the court?

What will be the best way to defend this charge?

Disclosure :
[IMG]http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/9569/discloure.jpg[/IMG]


Thanks

djino wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 5:13 pm

Hey roadrunner17,

How is the newest member to your family?

I would use the document on the first post and send another request for disclosure. If you fax it, keep the record of the fax transmission receipt. If you mail, keep tracking receipt.

If you do not receive anything in a month, I would send it one more disclosure request.

If you do not receive anything in about a month before your trial, then you should focus your efforts on completing a stay application due to no/improper disclosure (follow the instructions on post #2 of this thread).

djino
"Keep me updated!"

4door wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 5:47 pm

hey djino , question my ticket says i was going s/b when i was going n/b would this considered a fatal flaw ?

roadrunner17 wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 7:14 pm

Hi Djino

Little one is doing great, thanks.

I did sent exact same disclosure request as on page 1 of this thread via email and they mailed it back to me.
What should I be asking this time around? Anything specific?

Thanks

hollandmoon wrote: ↑

Aug 31st, 2012 12:47 am

My ticket says "did commit the parking infraction of (Code No. 134): PARK IN PUBLIC PLACE", and "Contrary to (Bylaw or Code): Toronto", also Location of Infraction says "R/O 115 Bond St".

Here are my questions:
1. What is Code No. 134?

hollandmoon wrote: ↑

Aug 31st, 2012 12:47 am

2. Can he put Toronto for the Bylaw or Code?

hollandmoon wrote: ↑

Aug 31st, 2012 12:47 am

3. What does R/O mean (I'm guessing it stands for Rear Of, can someone confirm)?

hollandmoon wrote: ↑

Aug 31st, 2012 12:47 am

4. I parked here: https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=43.657...t=h&gl=ca&z=20
But 115 Bond Street is the church beside it, does it still count? Btw, where I parked had a sign that says "No Parking in this lane" but it was on the left side while I parked on the right side.

hollandmoon wrote: ↑

Aug 31st, 2012 12:47 am

5. If I wait til they send me a notice of impending conviction then apply to appear in court, hoping I don't hear from it, will I still be able to plead guilty in court? Will I have to pay court fees?

djino wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2012 11:54 am

For the moment, I am not 100% sure if your fine should have been $400, or if $400 is included in the range of fine. I will have to do further research on that and get back to you (or perhaps you could anonymously contact your court and ask them if there is a range in fine or a specific set fine for someone charged with the offence contrary to section 159(1)(a)).
djino