Video evidence in court

Does anyone know if video evidence is permitted in court?

I have taken some video footage at the scene of where I was given a ticket for failing to stop at a stop sign to show the trees covering the sign and the reasons why the sign is not visible . I even went as far as to measure the distance from the sign out to 60 meters to show that the sign is not clearly visible and not un obstructed as it is required to be according to section 45 in the HTA. I have also taken pictures but the video I have will better support my defence as i have also shown the drive towards the sign in real time which makes a better defence over the pictures . I'm just wondering if anyone knows - as I have never had to bring evidence to a court room before , can I bring a video saved on a memory stick and have it played in the courtroom ? I have no idea what is admissible and what is not and on what format it would need to be . I sure as hell hope video is allowed because I was told by the cop that he had me on video when he saw my vehicle go through the stop and I would guarantee he is planning to use that against me so if his video is allowed to be used and seen as evidence I sure hope mine will be accepted as well.

Can anyone comment ? Please no guessing - I'm hoping for accurate answers .

Thanks

One quick point. Section 45 of the HTA has nothing to do with the visibility of a stop sign.

You should advise the Prosecutor and the Provincial Offences office that you will have video evidence that you want to present and that you require XYZ to play it.

Then when you show up, you can expect that they will most likely NOT have anything for you to play your video on.

They may want to keep the video you bring as evidence, so the best thing to so is put the video on a USB stick ($6 from Staples) and bring the video on that, or burn it onto a DVD disc that will play in a normal DVD player. Then you should also bring your own laptop that you have previsously tested that will play the video on the usb stick or DVD. There is another thread where somebody brough a video on their laptop direcltly (not on seperate usb stick and not on DVD), and the court took their whole laptop into evidence, so this is why it is important that you bring the video on a seperate DVD/USB stick. And then it is important to bring your own laptop to play the video on because most likely they will not have anything for you to play it on.

jsherk wrote:

You should advise the Prosecutor and the Provincial Offences office that you will have video evidence that you want to present and that you require XYZ to play it.

Then when you show up, you can expect that they will most likely NOT have anything for you to play your video on.

They may want to keep the video you bring as evidence, so the best thing to so is put the video on a USB stick ($6 from Staples) and bring the video on that, or burn it onto a DVD disc that will play in a normal DVD player. Then you should also bring your own laptop that you have previsously tested that will play the video on the usb stick or DVD. There is another thread where somebody brough a video on their laptop direcltly (not on seperate usb stick and not on DVD), and the court took their whole laptop into evidence, so this is why it is important that you bring the video on a seperate DVD/USB stick. And then it is important to bring your own laptop to play the video on because most likely they will not have anything for you to play it on.

lol, canada legal system is 3rd world

What would you suggest should happen ?

Hi Decatur,

In response to your comment , Section 45 under https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900615 explains that a Stop sign Must be visible from at least 60m. I have attched the link and copied the quote right out of it here - "45. A sign prescribed by this Regulation, other than a sign prescribed by section 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 26 or 27, shall be so placed as to be visible at all times for a distance of at least 60 metres to the traffic approaching the sign. O. Reg. 175/08, s. 15."

So i dont see how this argument wouldnt support my defense by arguing that at 60m away this sign was NOT visible to approaching traffic given that there were tree branches covering it and i have photos and a video to suppoort it.

am i missing something here?

You didn't say under any specific Regulation. You said under the HTA.

It's visibility is a matter of your opinion and that of the officer. In order to state your opinion though, you would have to get on the stand.

Buck Hunter wrote:

Does anyone know if video evidence is permitted in court?

I have taken some video footage at the scene of where I was given a ticket for failing to stop at a stop sign to show the trees covering the sign and the reasons why the sign is not visible . I even went as far as to measure the distance from the sign out to 60 meters to show that the sign is not clearly visible and not un obstructed as it is required to be according to section 45 in the HTA. I have also taken pictures but the video I have will better support my defence as i have also shown the drive towards the sign in real time which makes a better defence over the pictures . I'm just wondering if anyone knows - as I have never had to bring evidence to a court room before , can I bring a video saved on a memory stick and have it played in the courtroom ? I have no idea what is admissible and what is not and on what format it would need to be . I sure as hell hope video is allowed because I was told by the cop that he had me on video when he saw my vehicle go through the stop and I would guarantee he is planning to use that against me so if his video is allowed to be used and seen as evidence I sure hope mine will be accepted as well.

Can anyone comment ? Please no guessing - I'm hoping for accurate answers .

Thanks

I've used video evidence in criminal court before (dangerous driving). I made the video. My lawyer spoke to the crown before the trial and showed him the video. The crown then said he would not object to the video being used as evidence so long as my narration was muted (I made the video for my lawyer and the accident reconstruction guy therefore my comments were less than formal and somewhat biased). I made three copies on DVD and the bailiff patched my laptop into the TV in the court room (took a while for them to figure it out). The video was instrumental in my acquittal.

Defending myself in POA court (speeding) I met with the crown and told her I had video. She said if it gets to that I would like to watch it first. I said OK. However, it didn't come to that because she withdrew the charge.

So yes they are allowed but tell the crown and the court and make three copies.