Can you politely refuse to speak with them and decline to answer any of their questions? What about simply not answering the door? Is this true? Note: there is no probable cause and no crime going on.
Can you politely refuse to speak with them and decline to answer any of their questions?
What about simply not answering the door?
Is this true?
Note: there is no probable cause and no crime going on.
Police Coming to Your Door: Any person, including a police officer, has your implied consent to walk onto your property for the purpose of communicating to you at your front door. ....
There is also no obligation to answer the door when the police come knocking.
There is no obligation to speak to the police at your door, and you can end any conversation with them whenever you choose.
Do you have to answer the door? No, unless you're on conditions to do so (house arrest for example). But why bother creating such a hassle? I'd like to firstly point out that you do NOT know if they have 'reasonable cause' and you do NOT know if there have been any criminal incidents in the area. The officer might be canvassing to see if you've noticed a missing child from the area. Or perhaps a break and enter in the area just occurred and he's checking to ensure all is in order at your residence. Maybe you or your wife lost your wallet with id, cash and credit cards and he's there to return it. Maybe he's there to inform you of a death in your family. But bullocks to all that right? Or maybe he's there to make sure you're not wearing your tin foil hat so that the government can continue to absorb your thoughts and use it against you- who knows.
Do you have to answer the door? No, unless you're on conditions to do so (house arrest for example).
But why bother creating such a hassle?
I'd like to firstly point out that you do NOT know if they have 'reasonable cause' and you do NOT know if there have been any criminal incidents in the area.
The officer might be canvassing to see if you've noticed a missing child from the area. Or perhaps a break and enter in the area just occurred and he's checking to ensure all is in order at your residence. Maybe you or your wife lost your wallet with id, cash and credit cards and he's there to return it. Maybe he's there to inform you of a death in your family.
But bullocks to all that right?
Or maybe he's there to make sure you're not wearing your tin foil hat so that the government can continue to absorb your thoughts and use it against you- who knows.
No, I am not the chief of Toronto Police.
No, I do not work for Toronto Police...
... it is just a name folks
Yes. While there are certain acts/laws that may require you to identify yourself (i.e. trespassing, driving a motor vehicle), you're not required to answer any questions. Yes. Both answers are made with the assumption that police are not investigating a crime in progress or have any other exigent circumstances to force entry and/or make contact. Id personally suggest at least answering the door, since police may be at your door for a different reason then you think.
diehard wrote:
Can you politely refuse to speak with them and decline to answer any of their questions?
Yes. While there are certain acts/laws that may require you to identify yourself (i.e. trespassing, driving a motor vehicle), you're not required to answer any questions.
diehard wrote:
What about simply not answering the door?
Yes.
Both answers are made with the assumption that police are not investigating a crime in progress or have any other exigent circumstances to force entry and/or make contact.
Id personally suggest at least answering the door, since police may be at your door for a different reason then you think.
Id personally suggest at least answering the door, since police may be at your door for a different reason then you think. What if they want to give the owner of a vehicle who resides in the address a ticket for a traffic offense that occurred days ago? For example, cops didn't witness the offence, a witness called the cops and informed license plate. Can you still politely refuse to decline their questions?
Stanton wrote:
diehard wrote:
Can you politely refuse to speak with them and decline to answer any of their questions?
Id personally suggest at least answering the door, since police may be at your door for a different reason then you think.
What if they want to give the owner of a vehicle who resides in the address a ticket for a traffic offense that occurred days ago?
For example, cops didn't witness the offence, a witness called the cops and informed license plate.
Can you still politely refuse to decline their questions?
Yes, you can still refuse to answer questions but I wouldn't recommend avoiding service. Avoiding service doesn't make the charge go away and can actually make matters worse. If police have made reasonable attempts to serve you, they can request a warrant for you arrest. If arrested on the warrant, you could be held in custody for Court.
diehard wrote:
What if they want to give the owner of a vehicle who resides in the address a ticket for a traffic offense that occurred days ago?
For example, cops didn't witness the offence, a witness called the cops and informed license plate.
Can you still politely refuse to decline their questions?
Yes, you can still refuse to answer questions but I wouldn't recommend avoiding service. Avoiding service doesn't make the charge go away and can actually make matters worse. If police have made reasonable attempts to serve you, they can request a warrant for you arrest. If arrested on the warrant, you could be held in custody for Court.
Yes, you can still refuse to answer questions but I wouldn't recommend avoiding service. Avoiding service doesn't make the charge go away and can actually make matters worse. If police have made reasonable attempts to serve you, they can request a warrant for you arrest. If arrested on the warrant, you could be held in custody for Court. What if no one answers the door? Does it still constitute a reasonable attempt? Why can't police simply mail the the ticket to owner of vehicle? Ex. 175(19)
Stanton wrote:
diehard wrote:
What if they want to give the owner of a vehicle who resides in the address a ticket for a traffic offense that occurred days ago?
For example, cops didn't witness the offence, a witness called the cops and informed license plate.
Can you still politely refuse to decline their questions?
Yes, you can still refuse to answer questions but I wouldn't recommend avoiding service. Avoiding service doesn't make the charge go away and can actually make matters worse. If police have made reasonable attempts to serve you, they can request a warrant for you arrest. If arrested on the warrant, you could be held in custody for Court.
What if no one answers the door? Does it still constitute a reasonable attempt?
Why can't police simply mail the the ticket to owner of vehicle? Ex. 175(19)
How would they have evidence that it is you driving? anyone could be driving the car, same goes for parking tickets, it just gets sent(or billed) to the owner. If they have no reasonable evidence (ie. photos) I'd say anyone could have a good defence.
How would they have evidence that it is you driving? anyone could be driving the car, same goes for parking tickets, it just gets sent(or billed) to the owner. If they have no reasonable evidence (ie. photos) I'd say anyone could have a good defence.
For example, lets say the bus driver wrote down the license plate. The next day the cops want to hand the ticket to the driver of the car, so they visit the address. Can they give the ticket to the owner and give him the demerit points? 175(11) instead of 175(19)
ttlt_11 wrote:
How would they have evidence that it is you driving? anyone could be driving the car, same goes for parking tickets, it just gets sent(or billed) to the owner. If they have no reasonable evidence (ie. photos) I'd say anyone could have a good defence.
For example, lets say the bus driver wrote down the license plate. The next day the cops want to hand the ticket to the driver of the car, so they visit the address. Can they give the ticket to the owner and give him the demerit points?
For example, lets say the bus driver wrote down the license plate. The next day the cops want to hand the ticket to the driver of the car, so they visit the address. Can they give the ticket to the owner and give him the demerit points? 175(11) instead of 175(19) In this situation it would be an owner offence because they wouldn't be able to prove who was driving. So there are no demerit points tied to it, just the $490 fine. They have 30 to issue part 1, but if they don't they will just give you a summons. It's not going to just go away if you avoid it. I would just like to add in your first post you said there are not reasonable grounds, if the officer is there to serve the offence notice there are grounds for him to be there.
diehard wrote:
ttlt_11 wrote:
How would they have evidence that it is you driving? anyone could be driving the car, same goes for parking tickets, it just gets sent(or billed) to the owner. If they have no reasonable evidence (ie. photos) I'd say anyone could have a good defence.
For example, lets say the bus driver wrote down the license plate. The next day the cops want to hand the ticket to the driver of the car, so they visit the address. Can they give the ticket to the owner and give him the demerit points?
175(11) instead of 175(19)
In this situation it would be an owner offence because they wouldn't be able to prove who was driving. So there are no demerit points tied to it, just the $490 fine. They have 30 to issue part 1, but if they don't they will just give you a summons. It's not going to just go away if you avoid it.
I would just like to add in your first post you said there are not reasonable grounds, if the officer is there to serve the offence notice there are grounds for him to be there.
For example, lets say the bus driver wrote down the license plate. The next day the cops want to hand the ticket to the driver of the car, so they visit the address. Can they give the ticket to the owner and give him the demerit points? 175(11) instead of 175(19) In this situation it would be an owner offence because they wouldn't be able to prove who was driving. So there are no demerit points tied to it, just the $490 fine. They have 30 to issue part 1, but if they don't they will just give you a summons. It's not going to just go away if you avoid it. I would just like to add in your first post you said there are not reasonable grounds, if the officer is there to serve the offence notice there are grounds for him to be there. I see. But could cop insist in asking who was driving that day and try to give a 175(11) ticket to the owner of the vehicle even though he has no evidence who was driving, only the bus driver's testimony? Why are they visiting the address? Why can't they simply mail the ticket to the owner? What is a summons in this context?
swontleo wrote:
diehard wrote:
ttlt_11 wrote:
How would they have evidence that it is you driving? anyone could be driving the car, same goes for parking tickets, it just gets sent(or billed) to the owner. If they have no reasonable evidence (ie. photos) I'd say anyone could have a good defence.
For example, lets say the bus driver wrote down the license plate. The next day the cops want to hand the ticket to the driver of the car, so they visit the address. Can they give the ticket to the owner and give him the demerit points?
175(11) instead of 175(19)
In this situation it would be an owner offence because they wouldn't be able to prove who was driving. So there are no demerit points tied to it, just the $490 fine. They have 30 to issue part 1, but if they don't they will just give you a summons. It's not going to just go away if you avoid it.
I would just like to add in your first post you said there are not reasonable grounds, if the officer is there to serve the offence notice there are grounds for him to be there.
I see.
But could cop insist in asking who was driving that day and try to give a 175(11) ticket to the owner of the vehicle even though he has no evidence who was driving, only the bus driver's testimony?
Why are they visiting the address? Why can't they simply mail the ticket to the owner?
A summons is simply a document that compels you to attend Court. It has no set fine, so unlike a regular ticket you cant simply plead guilty and pay your fine by mail, you must attend Court. Summonses provide police with a longer period of time to serve an accused and also provide the option to seek higher fines on more serious offences. Police have the option of serving the ticket personally or by mail. Different officers/services may prefer different methods. Perhaps they do wish to investigate the complaint personally. If youre asked questions which you dont want to answer, just politely refuse to do so.
A summons is simply a document that compels you to attend Court. It has no set fine, so unlike a regular ticket you cant simply plead guilty and pay your fine by mail, you must attend Court. Summonses provide police with a longer period of time to serve an accused and also provide the option to seek higher fines on more serious offences.
Police have the option of serving the ticket personally or by mail. Different officers/services may prefer different methods. Perhaps they do wish to investigate the complaint personally. If youre asked questions which you dont want to answer, just politely refuse to do so.
What about this case here? http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/artic ... ficer?bn=1 Cops didn't see the driver committing an infraction, went to his residence and "invited" the driver to go the police station. There was no evidence, only a 911 call. Could the driver have respectfully declined to answer their questions? What if no one had answered the door? Could the cops kick in? What if the cops had showed up at the residence 4 or 5 days later?
Just to clarify further, the example your citing is a Criminal matter, not Highway Traffic Act. Quite likely a 9-1-1 call would not be sufficient to arrest someone for impaired driving, but it does give police reason to investigate the matter. Once they spoke with the driver and formed grounds to believe he was impaired, they made a demand which legally compels him to provide a breath sample. And as Decatur said, it's not an invitation, he was under arrest. In regards to police having grounds to kick in the door, etc., it would be very case specific and dependent on how well the police can articulate their grounds. It's very unlikely police would be investigating an impaired driver several days after the fact, since without a breath/blood/urine sample it becomes very difficult to show how someone was impaired. Again though, kind of apples to orange comparison for a straight HTA matter.
Just to clarify further, the example your citing is a Criminal matter, not Highway Traffic Act.
Quite likely a 9-1-1 call would not be sufficient to arrest someone for impaired driving, but it does give police reason to investigate the matter. Once they spoke with the driver and formed grounds to believe he was impaired, they made a demand which legally compels him to provide a breath sample. And as Decatur said, it's not an invitation, he was under arrest.
In regards to police having grounds to kick in the door, etc., it would be very case specific and dependent on how well the police can articulate their grounds. It's very unlikely police would be investigating an impaired driver several days after the fact, since without a breath/blood/urine sample it becomes very difficult to show how someone was impaired.
Again though, kind of apples to orange comparison for a straight HTA matter.
I have a problem and not sure what the hell to do about it. Few days ago I was stopped on a street going westbound against blinding afternoon sun following the flow of traffic. I drive a taxi for living in Toronto and have ACZ driver's license. I have a perfect record both for professional as well regular demerit points. I haven't been pulled over as a matter of fact in some 15 years for…
I have recently gone to court for a speeding ticket issued by an OPP officer. As it stood, the officer forgot to sign the ticket. So at my trial, before I made a plea, I pointed this out to the justice of the peace and asked that the ticket be quashed. I was asked to produce my copy of the ticket, which I gave and the JOP then agreed with me and dismissed the case. Before he did so, the…
I got pulled over (along with about 10 other cars) for going through a road closed sign. I had just pulled out of a parking lot pretty much right beside the road closed sign, and with about 4 cars behind me there wasn't much I could do but go through, so I think I have a good chance of fighting it. However, on my ticket under the Signature of issuing Provincial Offences Officer, it's left…
So here's my situation, any advice would be appreciated.
On June 26, 2013 I received a ticket for 25 over in a 60 zone
In early October I received my notice of trial (Feb 25, 2014)
In early January I sent in my request for disclosure
In late January I received a letter to pick up my disclosure, however when I picked up my disclosure it wasn't typed (I had requested it to be) and I needed…
Is there a legal requirement to report an accident to the insurer?
Scenario
- 2 vehicle accident
- each vehicle has less than $1000 damage
- each vehicle has damage roughly equal to insurance deductible
- a police Accident Report was completed
In this scenario the drivers decided to repair their own damages. But are they legally bound to report the accident and damages to the insurer? ...and out of…
I will be representing my wife at her speeding trial next week. Mostly everything is pretty much run of the mill but since she wasn't speeding we will be having her take the stand. Since this opens up the opportunity for the prosecutor to cross examine, I am just wondering if anyone here knows what kind of questions we should expect from the prosecutor in order to best prepare.
i got pulled over by a cop this morning in my kids's school zone for failure to stop at a stop sign. i am thinking of fighting this ticket, but i noticed that on the ticket itself it only says "disobey stop sign - fail to stop" and there is no mention of the demerit points. a co-worker mentioned to me that a ticket should state how many demerit points i am being docked. i know the Highway Traffic…
Alright, so this happened back awhile ago on June and I haven't appeared in Court. However, I would like some inputs and advice before I get into this battle.
Back in June I got a Speeding Ticket claiming I was going 100km/h on Blackcreek going south towards Lawrence. The Speed Limit there is 70km/h.
At this point of time, it was roughly traffic hour around 4-5PM. Coming off of the Highway, and…
Ive already done searches, read the act as best i can but still haven't read a complete answer. Where in the HTA does it state that the front license plate must be attached to the front bumper? I have it on the passenger sun visor (if ppl remember the old temp permits that taped to the pass side of windshield) i figured that this spot would be the same. However now they have got rid of…
My son was returning from school and was just entering the driveway when another vehicle hit the rear end. Police writes a ticket "fail to yield from private drive" 139(i). He is going to fight this ticket and made an application for disclosure. The trial is next week and he still hasn't received the disclosure.
He checked with the court last month and they said that they will call when disclosure…
i was travelling on the 401 (posted speed 100km/h) in the far left lane, when i caught up to a vehicle going ~110km/h. I patiently waited for the vehicle to move over a lane, but they did not. The vehicle behind me moved to the center lane to pass, but because he was a safe distance behind me, i moved into the middle lane ahead of him to pass the slower moving car. When I accelerated, i…
So I was returning from my honeymoon in Montreal, and was cruising down the 401 just inside the Ontario/Quebec border. I was passing one of the Onroute stations and saw an OPP cruiser. I checked my speed and I was doing 120. A few kilometers up the road the cruiser pulled me over and told me I was clocked doing 132 by the aircraft. I was a little surprised to see the ticket was for the full…
I made a right turn during prohibited hours (7am-6pm) in Toronto. I was ticketed by a COP who was specially watching for that trap.
After I've received the ticket HTA144(9), I discovered one of the seven digits of my license plate was incorrectly written on my ticket. I was thinking about to make a First Attendance at the court office to see the prosecutor for a reduced charge...any advice or…
Have been busy and haven't had much time to follow up on this...
Went to court having not received disclosure (and was not organized enough to apply for a stay), so the trial was adjourned. They photocopied the officer's ticket and notes and provided a log sheet from the plane. I've sent another request for the rest of the disclosure items.
So here's my question -- can an officer amend the ticket…
I am not sure if my case is really a case of " mis-use parking permit" and need some advises on whether i should fight the ticket. Here is what happened:
During the labor day long weekend, I took my parents to diner at a local shopping mall. (my father's hip was broken in 2016 and he's been on wheelchair since, the permit is in his name and I been using the permit to help him for doctor's…
I have a court date coming up where I need to subpoena one of the officers that was present when I got my ticket. The issuing officer didn't include the fact that the second one was present at the time in his report (disclosure) but did give me the second officers name and badge number after the judge told him to do it.
What I'm looking for help with is the process of me getting to…
I got pulled over on a 4 lane section fo Highway 7... Thank god I didn't get a stay at home ticket as well or my car impounded.
Officer clocked me at 156 km/h he decided not to impound my car and give me a 149 km/h since it was my first offence and he said I was polite and respectful. I would give this officer a 5/5 review if I could, very polite and respectful.
Long story short, I was driving from Toronto to Ottawa and around Napanee with my friend in two separated cars, the officer was parked on uturn. He followed us turn his light on and got between us and pulled us over, he told me that i was running at 152 km/h without showing me his LISAR. they suspended my and my friends license and impounded the two cars for 7 days. This was a Friday in January…
I'm unsure on what to do here. I was under the impression that I could request a stay on the day of trial because disclosure was not given to me in an adequate time. I requested disclosure 2x by fax, 5 months ago.
I read on ticketcombat that I had to file a motion 15 days prior to the trial to request a stay of proceedings.
Does anyone else get blinded by fog lights on rural roads? I don't seem to have a problem with them on lighted streets, but the badly aimed fog lights or ones with a poor cutoff really get to me when driving the Escort. I just came back from a 20-minute drive, and every single pickup truck had fog lights on, and forced me to focus on the bottom right of the road. My windshield is clean and…
