Hello guys

I got a ticket last year for CONFUSE PLATE IDENTITY, and going to trial in three weeks.

Basically what happened was that I had a decorative license plate inside my car, tucked on the left side of the rear window.

The plate was positioned sideways. A police officer most likely looking to fill his quota stopped me and gave me a ticket.

I had no clue it could confuse anyone as to where my Ontario license plate was . My ontario plate was fully visible and where it should be.

I was charged with the section 13(1) of the HTA

13. (1) No number other than that upon the number plate furnished by the Ministry shall be exposed on any part of a motor vehicle or trailer in such a position or manner as to confuse the identity of the number plate.

Now, my question is what are my chances of winning this and what could be my defense? One thing that is different is that it was a fake plate not issued by no Ministry and the other thing is that it was inside not on.

Thanks in advance

Mike

im not sure the details in this law but other than going into court with an honest attitude and dont try to blame the cop that never helps take a picture of where it was and bring it into court with you. tell them that if it helps any you are willing to destroy the plate there and then to show it will not be a problem again

Yeah that's what I was thinking too. Its a silly "crime". Hopefully the Judge will be lenient. thx for the advice.

me_how wrote:

One thing that is different is that it was a fake plate not issued by no Ministry and the other thing is that it was inside not on.

Are we talking about one of those faux-European plates that you're likely to see in the window of a Volkswagen?

You're going to meet with the prosecutor before any trial takes place. See what they're willing to offer you after a quick explanation. Don't go into rant explaining your innocence. Just explain it's a decorative plate inside your car and you immediately got rid of it. It's possible they'll cut you some slack.

Whether or not you already have an Ontario plate doesn't clear you of causing confusion. Same goes with the plate being fake. It's not all about officer confusion, it's confusion to everyone who shares the road and may need to use your plate as an identifier.

Exactly it is a Euro plate and I do drive a Volkswagen haha

The officer wasn't exactly friendly, after giving me the ticket he told me to "get out of the car and take that s*** off".

The prosecutor told me he could drop it down to $40, but that's not good enough for me I need this totally dropped.

I would agree with you if the plate was any where close to the Ontario plate like how some VW guys have it, but it was inside and nowhere near the actual plate. The only way this would confuse anyone was if he could barely see or first day in Canada which means they shouldn't be on the road anyway.

Cheers

I would try to argue that the term "confuse the identity" is subjective, and I feel the reasonableness test would apply. I don't know that you'll win but I'd take this to trial and put the officer on the stand and see if he could be credibly claim that he was confused by the identity of you plate. Make sure you have valid pictures to support where and how it was positioned. Bring up that the European novelty plate was positioned sideways so that it would be difficult to read without tilting your head and it was on the interior of the car. In light of this a question like: So you really do believe the identity of the vehicle was "confused" even though you observed a valid Ontario Plate mounted in the appropriate place? Would a reasonable person be confused?

Thanks for the help guys!