Ticket: Disobey Stop sign - Fail to stop

Contrary to Highway Traffic Act 128

When I went to plead to a lesser amount the magistrate refused to let me plead guilty and said that I had to go to court because the face of the ticket is incorrect. I didn't realize the wrong Act was written (oops!)

I looked it up when I got home and realized that he wrote in Sect. 128 which is a speeding violation.

So..... will this ticket be forgiven in court?

What should I expect?

Well there are a couple of options. If you're comfortable with doing these sorts of things yourself, you can file a motion to quash the certificate of offence. (LOTS of paperwork!) Beyond that, there are a lot of scenarios that could happen.

If you show up unprepared... here's the bad news: With you present for trial, the Justice of the Peace could (theoretically) amend the ticket to the correct HTA section, which is 136 (1)(a) for Disobey Stop Sign, and the trial could then continue. Conversely, the Crown Prosecutor may just decide to withdraw the charge on the basis that the ticket is defective. If you present a reasonable argument, though, the Justice of the Peace may throw out the ticket regardless. A complete conflict between the section and offence description (speeding vs. stop sign) should be sufficient to make the JP toss it, but you never know.

Or, if you wanted to, you could not show up for trial. Seems like a rather dumb idea, but the Provincial Offences Act, which guides these sorts of proceedings, has its quirks. If you fail to appear, the JP would then be required to examine the ticket for any "fatal" errors (conflicting section and offence description should count as a fatal error) and should then quash it. Here's a big, long discussion along those lines...

http://www.ontariohighwaytrafficact.com/topic1598.html

Not exactly the same situation, but I'd say the "default" procedure applies here. Off Camber initially asked the Crown Prosecutor if they would withdraw the charge; they said no, they'd just amend it, so he walked out of court. The Justice of the Peace erred and convicted him, so he appealed, and won. The error on his ticket was both the set fine and total payable amounts were incorrect. If the JP did enter a conviction, you'd have to appeal it, but should win on appeal.

Alternatively, you could consult a paralegal and see if they'd be willing to take it on. Anyone who is reasonably qualified should be able to get this one thrown out.

I guess it all depends on how much time/effort you want to put into fighting this... Hopefully this helps a bit...

Easiest in my opinion is to request a trial and not show up. The JP will quash it based on the incorrect section (assuming they are not asleep at that time)

Thanks for the advice.

After going through this site and the OHTA I had decided to file a motion to quash the certificate of offence. It doesn't bother me to get up by myself and speak, especially when I know what I'm saying and am reasonably sure that I can win. I've got a lot of great information written down already and I'm actually excited to get to trial to see how it all plays out. If nothing else I'll end up paying the fine and loosing my points which is what would have happened anyway. I'm very interested to see how the system works! You probably think I'm nuts because I find this to be an "adventure". I'm just making lemon-aid out of lemons and learning something to boot.

Now the hard part is just trying not to misplace my notes and ticket before they get back to me with a date, then another 3 months after that!!

The easiest way to educate yourself on these matters would be to go to Provincial Offences Court on your off day and see some cases there. You will probably want to cry and laugh at the same time though...

Court date is in 2 hours. Getting nervous!

I would go to court but not check in with the prosecutor or answer them when they page. At least that way you can see right away if it's quashed or if you'll have to appeal it.

I would not even go to court. If you show up and argue on motion to quash the certificate it SHOULD be amended and section changed to reflect 136(1)a. Provincial Offences Act makes provisions on these arguments.

This mistake IS fatal and winable at the APPEALS.

Hello Lisa,

Let us know what happend at the court.