Appealing a paid ticket

A young man received a ticket, his first. He was pretty shook up and headed directly to city hall and paid the ticket within minutes after getting the ticket. He then told his mother what had happened and she told him he should have contacted a representative to see what could be done with the ticket. He didn't realize he could do that. He wants to appeal.

Would it be successful? There was no trial so there are no transcripts to order.

Thank you.

Section 11 of the Provincial Offences Act covers reopenings. It sets out 2 conditions under which a conviction can be reopened. 1) The the defendant, through no fault of their own was unable to appear for a hearing and 2) A document relating to the offence was not delivered.

In other words, probably not, just for a change of heart.

Simon Borys wrote:

Section 11 of the Provincial Offences Act covers reopenings. It sets out 2 conditions under which a conviction can be reopened. 1) The the defendant, through no fault of their own was unable to appear for a hearing and 2) A document relating to the offence was not delivered.

In other words, probably not, just for a change of heart.

Thank you for your response. I appreciate it.

This is not a reopening. It is an appeal. A reopening was not possible because the fine had already been paid. When the accused went back to city hall a few minutes later to ask for his money back because he wanted to defend the ticket, he was told the refund was not possible because he had paid by debit and they had just closed the day on the debit machine and could not give him a refund, and as such, he would have to appeal.

Thank you again for any help you could provide.

When you file for an appeal you have to state your reasons. Normally appeals are only granted if your grounds are that there was an error in law. I don't know how this situation would play out, it would ultimately be up to the Justice to determine the validity of the argument. You could try making the argument that the defendant was so distraught over receiving the ticket and because of his age, and not having had the opportunity to consult with a parent, he was not in the position to make an informed decision about his options with respect to the ticket. This argument would hold more weight if the defendant was under 18 and still not considered an adult.

Go to the local court office (the criminal court office, not the POA court), and go to the Registrar's/Clerk's office ... they will be able to tell you whether you can appeal or not. It's not as though any JP made a decision on the case, a decision that you could appeal from. Your son made an out-of-court payment, which usually means that from the court's view you agree with your conviction. But ask anyways.

You have 15 days to appeal from the decision date (think this may now be 30 days - yep, 30 days). You might need an extension, which would mean you'd have to fill out another form that the Registrar would provide. You can also ask that the conviction be stayed pending the appeals process, which is another form. The Registrar will be your best bet for help.

The conviction can be appealed and the guilty plea quashed.

When entering a plea of guilty the defendant must comply with three conditions:

a) The plea must be volunteer, without impairment, coercion or unlawful incentive.

b) The plea must be informed. Knowledge of all circumstances regarding the charge and procedures, as well as options available to make full answer and defence.

c) The plea must be unequivocal. The defendant must be aware of the consequences of a plea of guilty. Demerit points, record, loss of employment opportunities, etc.

When paying a ticket, a defendant is pleading guilty to the charge as stated in the certificate. However if any of the above mentioned conditions is not fulfilled - in this case all of them-, the conviction may be successfully appealed.

Under these circumstances, the appellate court will order a trial and on a successful appeal the defendant will get back the money paid for the ticket .

Oh, and by the way:

Simon Borys wrote:

When you file for an appeal you have to state your reasons. Normally appeals are only granted if your grounds are that there was an error in law. I don't know how this situation would play out, it would ultimately be up to the Justice to determine the validity of the argument. You could try making the argument that the defendant was so distraught over receiving the ticket and because of his age, and not having had the opportunity to consult with a parent, he was not in the position to make an informed decision about his options with respect to the ticket. This argument would hold more weight if the defendant was under 18 and still not considered an adult.

You ought to be kidding

Cheers.