Unreasonable delay (Section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights)

Do you think your traffic court trial has taken too long to get to court

Most people who are in this situation believe they can show up at court and announce to the judge that it has taken more than a year from the time they received their ticket until the day of trial and therefore the judge must throw their case out.

Sadly, for most who try this, (and I see it often) they hit the legal brick wall. The judge may quickly note that you have not filed a Charter Application and you will not be successful. You will now be faced with a trial and the "carpet has been pulled out from under you" leaving you dazed and confused.

I have even seen people who have filed a Charter Application fail. They either havent filed it in time or they hear from the prosecutor, who also has a say in the matter, who will correctly point out to the judge that a Charter Application has not been served on the prosecution nor on the Ontario Attorney General nor on the Canada Department of Justice. The judge will have to agree and once again they are left with the wind taken out of their sails.

Another big misconception is that if it has taken one year or more to get to court it will automatically be thrown out.


There is no magic number. Period. The Supreme Court of Canada and lower courts have written about guidelines. This means that the court can start considering a discussion about delay after 8 months has gone by. There are many factors that have to be considered when arguing delay