Hello I am actually posting this on behalf of a friend that was resonantly in an accident while his license was suspended and he panicked and left the scene. He ended up getting tickets for the following:

failure to remain at the scene (under highway traffic act)

failure to report or return to a scene (under highway traffic act)

driving while suspended

careless driving

failure to report change of address

I believe there was 2 more not sure of them at the moment will update when I get them from him.

He was also charged for a driving while suspended previously a few months back. He goes to court this Tuesday and the cop who gave him the tickets was an old friend and said he would go to court and help him out.

He was wondering if he should lawyer up and what to expect when he goes to court.

Thank you.

If I were your friend I would definitely hire a lawyer or a paralegal who specializes in traffic cases, given the serious nature of the charges he is facing I would recommend against trying to go it alone in court. The driving while suspended charge and the failure to remain at the scene charge both carry the possibility of up to 6 months in jail. The fact that he is already facing another drive while suspended charge will possibly be seen as an aggravating factor making it more likely that the prosecution will push for jail time. Aside from the possible jail time he is looking at some very large fines and having his licence suspension extended. Also he should know that his insurance will probably not cover him since he was driving while suspended, this could result in the other driver`s insurance company suing him to cover the damage caused to the other driver`s car. Sorry to be such a downer but your friend is in some pretty serious trouble so he will need legal help to make sure that he gets the best out come possible given the circumstances. If he can`t find somebody by Tuesday, he can go to the court date himself and ask the court for more time to allow him to seek representation.

Thank you for the advice.

He went to court today and they told him to get a lawyer or seak legal advise before trial and rescheduled. He also found out that the person he hit hit someone else as a result of him hitting them.

I'm guessing them telling him to seak legal advice first means he is in a great deal of trouble? They only mentioned that one of his $1000 tickets would be dropped to $250 before the legal advice thing.

redfire wrote:I'm guessing them telling him to seak legal advice first means he is in a great deal of trouble?

Not always. If someone gets something as simple as a speeding ticket and they are rather overwhelmed in court, they will sometimes give them more time to seek advice. They don't want confused people pleading out of confusion. It doesn't necessarily mean you're in heaps of trouble.

That being said, your friend is in heaps of trouble. In this case they've recommended legal advice because he's going to need it. He is facing jail time and thousands in fines. Find representation. Considering there's accidents involved, it could only be the beginning of his troubles.

He talked to a family friend who is a paralegal and they said since the charges are higway code or under higwat act or something there is no jailtime is this true?

Not true. Under the Provincial Offences Act, a person can spend up to 6 month in jail for those offences.

redfire wrote:He talked to a family friend who is a paralegal and they said since the charges are higway code or under higwat act or something there is no jailtime is this true?

Your family friend couldn't be more wrong.

Driving While Suspended (First Offense) - minimum fine of $1,000 to $5,000, up to six months in jail, or both. Mandatory six months will be added to your current suspension.

Driving While Suspended (Second Offense) - minimum fine of $2,000 to $5,000, up to six months in jail, or both. Mandatory six months will be added to your current suspension.

Failure to Remain - minimum fine of $200 to $1000, up to six months in jail, or both. Up to 2 years can be added to your suspension.