[Merged] Ask me anything about TORONTO Parking Tickets

despotic wrote: ↑I'm going to court this month to fight a ticket that was never issued to me. The ticket is only $30, but I'm fighting it for the principle of it.

What happened is that I did park illegally to go to a store and when I came out, I saw the officer entering information on his handheld. He was behind my car, with his car parked in front of mine. I quickly walked to my car, he saw me and walked right past me still entering information. We both got into our cars and we both drove away. I was never given the ticket, nor it was affixed to my vehicle. I never actually saw the yellow tag.

2 weeks later, I get a letter in the mail.


What pisses me most is that, it will be his word against mine. And him being a sworn officer, they will believe him.

What is more disturbing is that even if I win, what do I get out of it? Just not having to pay the $30. I don't get compensated for time lost from work or for personal time wasted. It is a system that is rigged to take your money. Even if the police is dead wrong in writing the ticket, they don't care. They get paid time and a half to go to court and they get to take a break from work by doing so to boot.

As a tax payer, I'm appalled that I have to pay someone time and a half for wasting my time!

/End rant

djino wrote: ↑Yes, as literbrite indicates, if the police officer never handed you the ticket nor placed it on your vehicle, then that ticket is invalid.

Just take a look at what the law states for the Provincial Offences Act Section 15(4)

Update: I just had my trial. My first trial ever so I was not sure what to expect or how to act.

I pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor then advised me to motion to squash the charge on grounds that I was never issued the ticket. I did that and I told my story (with a few hickups as I didn't know the terminology or process which I think annoyed the JP a little). She denied the motion. Then I pleaded not guilty again as I wanted to actually ask the officer questions (again not knowing the terminology, I called it "interrogate" ... silly me ... and I felt that everyone continued getting annoyed). The officer testified that he affixed the ticket based on his notes. I asked if he had actually remembered putting it on the windshield and he said no, but since I didn't object to him using his notes as evidence (I actually did, but since I don't know the law, I couldn't give them a legal reason for it, they told me I can't do that ... again ... JP got even more annoyed ... she actually gave me a lecture that I have to come prepared with my motions by studying law first).

The prosecutor asked the officer about his normal actions writing tickets and if there is any reason that he could have been behind my car. The officer stated that he normally issues the ticket and then he goes behind the car to collect more evidence or see if his original notes where correct. This pretty much sealed the case as there was no way I could prove that the ticket was never affixed to the vehicle as it stated in the officer's notes. I testified that I did knowingly park illegal (BIG mistake, never admit to that!!!) and that the weather was not windy, therefore I believed that the ticket could not have been blown away by the wind and then told my story again how I saw the officer behind my car and we both got into our cars and that I did not see any ticket affixed to my car.

The JP in the end ruled guilty. The prosecutor asked for a higher charge of $60 (ticked was $40) since as he said, the point of the fine is supposedly to prevent people from parking illegally (i wanted to call ***** on that ... but refrained myself . He stated that because I knowingly parked illegally based on my testimony, he said he needed to "teach me a lesson" and raise the fine to $60. The JP then agreed, she also stated that I wasted the court's time and raised the fine to $100.

So $40 ticket, which most likely was going to be reduced to $10 if I pleaded guilty, turned into a $100 ticket. A difference of $90 + $5.25 for parking during the trial.

What is the moral of the story? Even if you believe the officer has done wrong, if you do not have any hard evidence against it and it is just your word against his, you will lose. Moreover, the fine might be raised to "teach you a lesson" and for "wasting the court's time" by doing your LEGAL right by having a trial.

So do your research if you want to proceed to trail first! If you don't have hard evidence or a legal ground to oppose the officer using his notes, then you are pretty much toast.

I guess I will have to record my car 24/7 now so next time, I'm not issued a phony ticked for being illegally parked at street XYZ at the other side of town when I'm actually parked at my driveway. Yes, this is an extreme case, but when you get a notice 2 weeks later, it would be too late to collect evidence. You would not have any evidence and ground to challenge the "notes" of the officer.

Plead guilty, people! Not worth the hassle otherwise. The system is rigged to get your cash at the end so don't bother. In criminal case, you would have more chance.

I went because of moral grounds, not cause I cared about the $40 fine. I end up having to pay $100 for wanting having my say in court.

[Edit]
On second thought, I don't think I represented myself very well. I didn't ask all questions I wanted to ask since in the heat of the moment I don't think I was thinking clearly ... that being my first trial ever.

Lessons learned:
1) Prepare well beforehand if you want to go to trial
2) Know that you will be able to question the officer. Know what to ask ahead of time. It is good to jot down questions you want to ask before the trial so you don't forget them.
3) With your questioning, try to establish a scenario where your interpretation of what happened likely happened. For example, in retrospect, I should have asked the officer how he normally writes tickets ... i.e. does he stand behind the car when writing the ticket and then come to the front and affix it to the car, then in the summation I can establish the scenario that I most likely saw him when he was writing the ticket based on evidence that not only I presented, but also what he presented. That's what the prosecutor did ... He described a scenario where the officer could go behind the car AFTER he has already affixed the ticket to the car, so whether I'm telling the truth or not now is irrelevant as even if I'm telling the truth, something could have happened to the ticket. Although I do not believe that was the case.
4) Ask all your questions when it's your turn. You cannot ask new question during redirect! I tried that and the prosecutor motioned that I was introducing new questions instead of just challenging his redirect questions.
5) Do not in any case tell more than you should in order to prove your case. I said I stopped illegally to buy cat food. I believe because of that they wanted to "teach me a lesson".

On the bright side, for only $60 (on top of my original fine of $40), I got useful trial experience. I just hoped it was going to be max just the $40 fee if I was found guilty. I guess my comment about buying cat food and the fact that I knowingly parked illegally ticked them off, even though I was not obstructing traffic in any way (I was just outside of the designated parking spaces and there were cars parked behind me and a little ahead of me, so the lane was not usable
for driving anyway).

[edit3]
After letting it sink in for a while, I can't help but feel shafted by the system. There is no doubt in my mind that the ticket was never afixed to my car, because 1) it wasn't windy and 2) nobody would take a ticket from a car when the officer is still at the scene. Therefore, I don't believe there is anyway that the officer afixed the ticket to my car before I got there and somehow it magically disappeared. But that's besides the point. I have the feeling now that even though i supposedly "have the right" for trial, it is not really something that is recommended or appreciated by the court ... Not in the least.

What's most dishartening though is not the fact that I lost the case (that was probably my fault due to lack of court experience and not being prepared). It is not the fact that I was given $100 fine instead of the $40 that the ticket was worth. It is the feeling that I now have that I was punished for exercising my right to trial. It is the feeling that I now have that the system here, which I thought was better than the one in my former corrupted country, is somehow better. It is the feeling that because I actually made the JP do her job, instead of just her normal twiddling of thumbs she does for guilty after guilty plea, that I somehow did something wrong.

despotic wrote: ↑Update: I just had my trial. My first trial ever so I was not sure what to expect or how to act.

I pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor then advised me to motion to squash the charge on grounds that I was never issued the ticket.

The prosecutor suggested this? Even though it was good advice, its strange that this came from the Prosecutor.

despotic wrote: ↑I did that and I told my story (with a few hickups as I didn't know the terminology or process which I think annoyed the JP a little). She denied the motion.

An extremely important question here... Did the Justice explain why she rejected it?? - IF NOT.. GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL

despotic wrote: ↑Then I pleaded not guilty again as I wanted to actually ask the officer questions (again not knowing the terminology, I called it "interrogate" ... silly me ... and I felt that everyone continued getting annoyed). The officer testified that he affixed the ticket based on his notes.

Did you obtain disclosure?

If you had not, then you could have objected to the officer using his notes while on the stand since you have not received a copy of it.

despotic wrote: ↑I asked if he had actually remembered putting it on the windshield and he said no, but since I didn't object to him using his notes as evidence (I actually did, but since I don't know the law, I couldn't give them a legal reason for it, they told me I can't do that ... again ... JP got even more annoyed ... she actually gave me a lecture that I have to come prepared with my motions by studying law first).

What exactly did you say in your objection to him using his notes. If you noted it because you did not receive a copy of it, then this objection is valid - GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL.

despotic wrote: ↑The prosecutor asked the officer about his normal actions writing tickets and if there is any reason that he could have been behind my car. The officer stated that he normally issues the ticket and then he goes behind the car to collect more evidence or see if his original notes where correct. This pretty much sealed the case as there was no way I could prove that the ticket was never affixed to the vehicle as it stated in the officer's notes.

I really would have liked to see what disclosure would have provided. Based off of it, you could have came up with cross examination questions to show its possible he may not have affixed the ticket to your vehicle.

despotic wrote: ↑I testified that I did knowingly park illegal (BIG mistake, never admit to that!!!)

Yes, this was a big mistake. I always recommend that people NOT testify on the stand if they are not experienced on how to handle themselves in court. As most (like yourself) will convict themselves in the process. I believe that statement alone had convicted you. The prosecutor didn't need to present anything else.

Oh by the way.. During trial, did the prosecutor present the following?

1) Evidence of the ownership of your vehicle
2) Certificate of parking infraction
3) Notice of Trial (The letter they sent to you informing you of your trial date) - This is usually forgotten by the prosecutor.

If the prosecutor missed any of the above, then at the end of your case you could have motion of NON-SUIT. As the prosecutor has not provided enough evidence for a conviction.

despotic wrote: ↑and that the weather was not windy, therefore I believed that the ticket could not have been blown away by the wind and then told my story again how I saw the officer behind my car and we both got into our cars and that I did not see any ticket affixed to my car.

The JP in the end ruled guilty.

Did the Justice explain why she found you guilty? If not - GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL.

despotic wrote: ↑The prosecutor asked for a higher charge of $60 (ticked was $40) since as he said, the point of the fine is supposedly to prevent people from parking illegally (i wanted to call ***** on that ... but refrained myself . He stated that because I knowingly parked illegally based on my testimony, he said he needed to "teach me a lesson" and raise the fine to $60. The JP then agreed, she also stated that I wasted the court's time and raised the fine to $100.

So $40 ticket, which most likely was going to be reduced to $10 if I pleaded guilty, turned into a $100 ticket. A difference of $90 + $5.25 for parking during the trial.

Sorry to hear this.

despotic wrote: ↑What is the moral of the story? Even if you believe the officer has done wrong, if you do not have any hard evidence against it and it is just your word against his, you will lose. Moreover, the fine might be raised to "teach you a lesson" and for "wasting the court's time" by doing your LEGAL right by having a trial.

So do your research if you want to proceed to trail first! If you don't have hard evidence or a legal ground to oppose the officer using his notes, then you are pretty much toast.

Unfortunately, you could have been a bit more prepared than what you went in with. Fortunately, a parking conviction will have no affect on your insurance. So at least you got some good valuable court experience for when you need to return on a more serious charge.

Hopefully, next time you will be more prepared, so you can get a better result.


djino
"Goodluck!"

afiglee wrote: ↑Does this actually work in Toronto? If they send you a notice 17 days after the offence and allow another 15 days to pay it will be 32 days when you need to ether pay or request a trial. There is a long way to go till 75 days and with the cash hungry city I really doubt the clerks would be allowed to delay the paperwork submission to the court for 43 days.

Sorry, forgot to reply to this post last week.

Remember, when they send you a notice, this is obviously by mail. And it doesn't mean that on exactly DAY 17, they will print out your notice of conviction and mail it to you immediately for you to receive it the exact same day. The courts do take into account the time mail will be received and adjust their due date to match that.

Example: I received a Parking ticket back on May 16th (2011). The due date on the parking ticket showed May 31st, 2011. As per my instructions above, I ignored this due date. On June 13th (DAY 28) I received the Notice of Impending conviction which actually gave me until July 4th (DAY 49). On Day 49, I went to the court and put in my request for a trial.

My trial was scheduled for November 22nd, 2011. The cop was not there, ticket was dropped.


djino
djino

last june, i was ticketed for failing to pay the meter outside of my workplace. it was at an old school style meter (the individual type they used to have for each parking space). i actually did pay the meter but it was broken and didn't register my payment. i left a note on my windshield explaining this. i came back to my car to find i was given a ticket. my bf told me that i could take my ticket down to the parking ticket office to explain the meter was broken and they might be able to cancel the ticket after checking the meter. the woman i spoke to was pretty nasty in general and told me that this wasn't possible, and that if the meter was broken, i was responsible for finding another place to park. i ended up requesting a trial date because i was pissed off about this. i just got sent my court date this week (just under a year later). the court date is in august.

here is my situation: i have arthritis of the knees and the previous day, i had gone to the doctor to have something injected into my knees. it rendered me very immobile afterwards for several weeks and i was using a walker for the first week, but even that was painful and very difficult. i had to be at work the next day so i drove and parked at the closest meter i could find since i was disabled. all other nearby parking spaces were taken, and it was not an option for me to park elsewhere due to my disability at the time.

i have no way to prove now that the meter was broken. i can get a doctor's note explaining that i did have an appointment the day before, and i could explain my situation.. but is this sufficient? it's frustrating because all of the above is true, but i have no way to prove it (aside from the doctor's note), and i have no idea if any of this would fly in court.

any feedback or ideas?

helenhelen wrote: ↑last june, i was ticketed for failing to pay the meter outside of my workplace. it was at an old school style meter (the individual type they used to have for each parking space). i actually did pay the meter but it was broken and didn't register my payment. i left a note on my windshield explaining this. i came back to my car to find i was given a ticket. my bf told me that i could take my ticket down to the parking ticket office to explain the meter was broken and they might be able to cancel the ticket after checking the meter. the woman i spoke to was pretty nasty in general and told me that this wasn't possible, and that if the meter was broken, i was responsible for finding another place to park. i ended up requesting a trial date because i was pissed off about this. i just got sent my court date this week (just under a year later). the court date is in august.

here is my situation: i have arthritis of the knees and the previous day, i had gone to the doctor to have something injected into my knees. it rendered me very immobile afterwards for several weeks and i was using a walker for the first week, but even that was painful and very difficult. i had to be at work the next day so i drove and parked at the closest meter i could find since i was disabled. all other nearby parking spaces were taken, and it was not an option for me to park elsewhere due to my disability at the time.

i have no way to prove now that the meter was broken. i can get a doctor's note explaining that i did have an appointment the day before, and i could explain my situation.. but is this sufficient? it's frustrating because all of the above is true, but i have no way to prove it (aside from the doctor's note), and i have no idea if any of this would fly in court.

any feedback or ideas?

File an application to STAY your trial due to unreasonable delay (11b). See Post #3 in this thread for details on how to do this which requires you to send the following completed form to the attorney generals/prosecutor. The process requires you to have send this form at least 15 days prior to your trial.

Blank Form.

FORM 4F

Courts of Justice Act

NOTICE OF CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION

R. v. Your Last Name The Defendant, Your Name, intends to claim a remedy under subsection 24 (1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in relation to a violation of subsection 11 (b) of the Charter by the Government of Ontario. The defendant seeks the remedy of a stay of proceedings.

The question will be argued on Your Court Date at the Name and Adress of Court House.

Offence: Your Charge; PON#: Your Offence Number; Offence Date: Your Offence Date; Trial Date: Date Of Trial; Time: Time Of Trial; Courtroom: Location Or Room Number.

The following are the material facts giving rise to the constitutional question: As shown above, Your Offence Date is the date of the offence and Your Trial Date is the date of the Trial. This period of time constitutes an unreasonable delay.

The following is the legal basis for the constitutional question: The defendant has a legal right to be tried within a reasonable time. The defendant has not waived his right to a speedy trial, nor has the defendant been found at fault for the delay. (R. v. Askov, 1990 CanLII 45 (S.C.R.)). The defendant's legal right to be tried within a reasonable time has been infringed and in doing so has violated the defendant's section 11 (b) Charter right. The defendant is requesting a stay of proceedings pursuant to Section 24(1) of the Charter.

(Date) The Date You Are Filing This With The Court ................... Your Name, Address, Phone Number (Also Sign it here)

TO[INDENT]The Attorney General of Ontario (as required by section 109 of the Courts of Justice Act)
Constitutional Law Branch
4th floor
720 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2K1
fax: (416) 326-4015


The Attorney General of Canada (as required by section 109 of the Courts of Justice Act)
Suite 3400, Exchange Tower
Box 36, First Canadian Place
Toronto, Ontario M5X 1K6
fax: (416) 973-3004

Court Name and Address

Prosecutor Name and Address
[/INDENT]

I don't know if these questions has been asked or answered before, but I was wondering if I should fight my tickets in these situations. I work as a painter, so my job requires me to be at different residential neighbourhoods all the time.

Situation 1: I was working at a house where parking without a permit is not allowed until 10am. I usually have to show up to job sites at 8 or 9 am and I got a ticket for parking without a permit at 9:20

Situation 2. Working at a house where parking is only allowed in 1 hour periods. Had a note in my car notifying the parking officer that I was painting at the house right infront of where my car was parked. Received a ticket anyways.

Is there any chance that I will beat either of these two tickets? Thanks in advance!

Ok, so I have received numerous of parking tickets in the past,, usually $30 ones but I never go to court and dispute. IF I am reading this thread right, the judge will usually offer me paying $10 if I plead guilty? or how much is it?

I got a ticket for parking in a spot I shouldn't have during the wrong hours. I read the sign wrong and I agree that I should pay this $30 fine. But when I go to pay the ticket online and enter my code it says that they can't find my number in the system. The number on the top right hand corner starts with 2 letters and has 6 numbers after the 2 letters. I'm wondering if that means my ticket was never filed so I don't have to pay it? Or should I phone in and pay it there? Because if it's not in the system then that'd be nice.

TigerLilly wrote: ↑I got a ticket for parking in a spot I shouldn't have during the wrong hours. I read the sign wrong and I agree that I should pay this $30 fine. But when I go to pay the ticket online and enter my code it says that they can't find my number in the system. The number on the top right hand corner starts with 2 letters and has 6 numbers after the 2 letters. I'm wondering if that means my ticket was never filed so I don't have to pay it? Or should I phone in and pay it there? Because if it's not in the system then that'd be nice.

Your best bet is to do nothing for the moment and ignore the due date on this parking ticket. After 17 days from receiving the ticket, they are supposed to mail you a "notice of impending conviction". If you don't receive this, is a good indication that your parking ticket was never filed/dropped.

If you do receive the notice of impending conviction, then you can pay the fine at that point or request a trial (before the due date of this notice of impending conviction as it gives you another 15 days to do something with).

djino

I got a $30 parking ticket for "Failure to deposit fee in the machine".

I purchased a parking permit on city streets for $3.50 but realized it wouldn't be enough so I bought another one for $4. I displayed both on my dashboard clearly and still got that ticket.

Do I have a chance to fight this? The tickets were 2 minutes apart from each other. The first one was paid for by credit card and second one was cash (because I was in a hurry and couldn't wait for the "approval" stage on the machine.


Stephen

EDIT: Just to clarify, the ticket was issued at 4:57 PM with that reason. My 2 tickets were purchased at 1:35 and 1:37 PM respectively. The first one was 1 hr 45 mins and the second was 2 hours. That should cover the duration.

Nyte7 wrote: ↑I got a $30 parking ticket for "Failure to deposit fee in the machine".

I purchased a parking permit on city streets for $3.50 but realized it wouldn't be enough so I bought another one for $4. I displayed both on my dashboard clearly and still got that ticket.

Do I have a chance to fight this? The tickets were 2 minutes apart from each other. The first one was paid for by credit card and second one was cash (because I was in a hurry and couldn't wait for the "approval" stage on the machine.


Stephen

EDIT: Just to clarify, the ticket was issued at 4:57 PM with that reason. My 2 tickets were purchased at 1:35 and 1:37 PM respectively. The first one was 1 hr 45 mins and the second was 2 hours. That should cover the duration.

The first Pay & Display permit you purchased according to your timeline would have expired at 3:20pm, the second one would have expired at 3:37pm. Are you really surprised that you got a parking ticket at 4:57pm? All you did was display two expired Pay & Display permits. You can't buy two permits and then add the times together to come up with a new expiry time. So to answer your question, no, you have no chance of winning this ticket if you choose to dispute it in court.

IMWHFMPC wrote: ↑Ok, so I have received numerous of parking tickets in the past,, usually $30 ones but I never go to court and dispute. IF I am reading this thread right, the judge will usually offer me paying $10 if I plead guilty? or how much is it?

Any reductions depend on the prosecutor and presiding JP. There are no set guidelines for reductions with guilty pleas and it varies depending on who you are dealing with. Some prosecutors are more generous than others. You should also know that while JP's tend to accept recommendations on sentencing, they are not bound by any agreement you make with the prosecutor and can impose whatever fine they feel is appropriate and is in line with the law.

Fox1971 wrote: ↑The first Pay & Display permit you purchased according to your timeline would have expired at 3:20pm, the second one would have expired at 3:37pm. Are you really surprised that you got a parking ticket at 4:57pm? All you did was display two expired Pay & Display permits. You can't buy two permits and then add the times together to come up with a new expiry time. So to answer your question, no, you have no chance of winning this ticket if you choose to dispute it in court.

Well that sucks. There is no provision where this is allowed? Is it written down somewhere that I can't do this? Because from a technical standpoint, I did pay for parking ($2/hour and I paid a combined total of $7.50 on 2 separate permits). From a legal standpoint, I'm not informed on because the municipal by-laws don't make a mention of this (ie. allowing some sort of provision for citizens in the event they accidentally pressed buy before adding more time, pressing cancel does not cancel it when you already pressed buy).

spytgale1 wrote: ↑I don't know if these questions has been asked or answered before, but I was wondering if I should fight my tickets in these situations. I work as a painter, so my job requires me to be at different residential neighbourhoods all the time.

Similar questions have been asked.

spytgale1 wrote: ↑Situation 1: I was working at a house where parking without a permit is not allowed until 10am. I usually have to show up to job sites at 8 or 9 am and I got a ticket for parking without a permit at 9:20

No permit automatically earns you a ticket.

spytgale1 wrote: ↑Situation 2. Working at a house where parking is only allowed in 1 hour periods. Had a note in my car notifying the parking officer that I was painting at the house right infront of where my car was parked. Received a ticket anyways.

Do you have any idea how much crap people leave on their dash? We don't have time to try to search through all that to find and read notes. Anybody can put a note on their dash and they don't mean a thing. What did you expect the PEO to do? Come find you and ask you to move the car? It is your responsibility to park legally, not ours to come track you down when you don't.

spytgale1 wrote: ↑Is there any chance that I will beat either of these two tickets? Thanks in advance!

Beat them? Not a chance. Parking violations are absolute liability offences. In layman's terms that means that it doesn't matter why you were parked there, just that you were parked there. There is some good news though. You can make a deal with the prosecutor for a reduced fine in exchange for a guilty plea. Just explain truthfully why you were parked illegally and they will be willing to deal with you.

Nyte7 wrote: ↑Well that sucks. There is no provision where this is allowed? Is it written down somewhere that I can't do this? Because from a technical standpoint, I did pay for parking ($2/hour and I paid a combined total of $7.50 on 2 separate permits). From a legal standpoint, I'm not informed on because the municipal by-laws don't make a mention of this (ie. allowing some sort of provision for citizens in the event they accidentally pressed buy before adding more time, pressing cancel does not cancel it when you already pressed buy).

So by your logic if you buy two plane tickets from Toronto to Calgary you should be able to fly to Vancouver because the distance covered by both tickets is the same as the distance all the way across the country? If you want to present those "technical" and "legal" standpoints in court, fill your boots, son. Just don't be surprised when you are convicted. Next time try exercising a little common sense when paying for parking.

Fox1971 wrote: ↑So by your logic if you buy two plane tickets from Toronto to Calgary you should be able to fly to Vancouver because the distance covered by both tickets is the same as the distance all the way across the country? If you want to present those "technical" and "legal" standpoints in court, fill your boots, son. Just don't be surprised when you are convicted. Next time try exercising a little common sense when paying for parking.

Come on cut him some slack. He did that in good faith. Challenge it in court and I guarantee the charge gets withdrawn or the JP gives a suspended sentence.

flyguy3bua wrote: ↑Come on cut him some slack. He did that in good faith. Challenge it in court and I guarantee the charge gets withdrawn or the JP gives a suspended sentence.

Charge withdrawn? Absolutely not. Suspended sentence? Possible, but not likely.

Fox1971 wrote: ↑Charge withdrawn? Absolutely not. Suspended sentence? Possible, but not likely.

charge withdrawn very likely..... has happened before, or maybe that was a nice judge who understood that not all citizens everyday drivers and therefore not familiar with Pay & Display....

Fox1971 wrote: ↑So by your logic if you buy two plane tickets from Toronto to Calgary you should be able to fly to Vancouver because the distance covered by both tickets is the same as the distance all the way across the country? If you want to present those "technical" and "legal" standpoints in court, fill your boots, son. Just don't be surprised when you are convicted. Next time try exercising a little common sense when paying for parking.

that is your logic not his.... what he was thinking was more like charging a pre-paid phone

iownyou wrote: ↑charge withdrawn very likely..... has happened before, or maybe that was a nice judge who understood that not all citizens everyday drivers and therefore not familiar with Pay & Display....

First, judges don't preside over Toronto parking ticket courts, JP's do. Second, prosecutors withdraw charges, JP's don't. Third, just because it may have happened once doesn't mean that is the result every time. For every instance where what you described occurred there were thousands of more cases where it didn't. If you had any real court experience you would know these things. I do this for a living and probably spend more time in court than just about anybody else on RFD so I'm not just spouting opinions. I'm describing what I see routinely happening in court all the time.