hello,

Is there a way to get out of being subpoenaed for an accident in ontario. i searched here and found only one thread that was related but in that case the person had already been subpoenaed. ( i guess once you are sent the subpoenea then there is no way out ? - what if you travel out of provice/country constantly for work>)

if you have not been subpoenead yet and was told by the officer that you might be .. can you request to not be a witness ?

Thank you in advance.

No, and the consequences for not appearing in court is a $2000 fine and 30-days in jail. If you look at OPS Copper's post, you'll see that they take 'fail to appear' very seriously.

http://www.ontariohighwaytrafficact.com ... tml#p29902

OPS Copper wrote:

We had a JP here issue witness warrants for all the missing witnesses. We also made sure that we attended their places of work to arrest them.

You get a few weeks/months advance notice of the trial date. So you can make arrangements to attend, if you have a problem with the date you can contact the courts and see if they can re-schedule for a date of your convenience.

Nothing short of being hospitalized or a family emergency would let you get away for not appearing.

thank you for your reply.

this is very troubling.

what if I dont want to be a witness in court! you cant be forced to be a witness .. can you?

and if your testimony does not match word by word to what the officer has in his notes ? then what?

traffic wrote:

thank you for your reply.

this is very troubling.

what if I dont want to be a witness in court! you cant be forced to be a witness .. can you?

yes you can. That is what a supeona is. And there are ramifications for not showing up.

and if your testimony does not match word by word to what the officer has in his notes ? then what?

Won't mater won't have to match word for word. Your memory is based on your recollection and memory

OPS

Will you know what the prostecutor will be asking you .. Do they tell you anything? Is there an "orientation"!?

What were you subpoenaed for ?

Have not been subpoenaed yet.

It would be for an HTA charge after an accident.

Makes a difference ?

I am starting to suspect that from your line of questions you lied to the police at the scene and later you cannot remember the details of what you said. That is why you are so worried about what they will ask. That you said something not true and now if asked you will not know what to answer.

OPS

Incorrect.

Didn't know this was a judging forum !

Was looking for unbiased knowledge and insight into a legal case !

traffic wrote:

Incorrect.

Didn't know this was a judging forum !

Was looking for unbiased knowledge and insight into a legal case !

LOL, you are in the wrong place.

Go get a lawyer, that's where you might get , "unbiased knowledge and insight into a legal case ."

Just because you witnessed an accident doesnt mean youll be required to attend Court. Many matters never proceed to trial, either because the accused simply pleads guilty or the matter is resolved with a plea deal. Even if the accused initially requests a trial, sometimes a plea deal will be reached on the day of the trial negating any need for you to testify. Theres no way to "opt out" of being a witness, but I really wouldnt worry about it since most matters dont proceed to trial.

If you are eventually subpoenaed, it will probably be several months down the road. The trial could easily be a year or more from when the offence happened. If and when that happens, you can contact the Crowns office to speak with them regarding your concerns. If you were to be legitimately away, they may be able to reschedule to a date that works for you. If youre simply nervous about testifying (which many people are, even people who do so on a regular basis) the Crown will also be able to explain the process to you and walk through what will happen. If you provided police with a written statement at the time of the incident, youll be able to review it and refresh your memory prior to the trial. It might also be beneficial to attend Court for a trial prior to testifying, simply to see how the process works.

Finally ! .. Thank you for sharing your knowledge .

I completely understand that the trial might not even happen however incase it does I do not want to incriminate the said person due to what I learned after talking to the police. I also have learned that it's the officers job to lay charges at the time of the accident and they let the court system deal with how justifies they might have been .. So all this being said, I don't want this person to be found guilty of what he was charged with after simply scratching my car. My statement to police was not written; I was angry at the time and it seems as if there was a bit of miss communication ..

traffic wrote:

Finally ! .. Thank you for sharing your knowledge .

I was angry at the time and it seems as if there was a bit of miss communication ..

miscommunication. incorrect statement seems I was correct despite your denials.

OPS

That's funny, if someone was in error and scratched my car, I would want them charged, if there was an applicable charge.

This person could do this often and keep getting away with it, where enough offences the MTO can pull the licence

OPS Copper wrote:

I am starting to suspect that from your line of questions you lied to the police at the scene and later you cannot remember the details of what you said. That is why you are so worried about what they will ask. That you said something not true and now if asked you will not know what to answer.

OPS

Funny....I got the same feeling. 2 cops, in different parts of the province, who got the same feeling from a read statement. Ya, we must both be wrong.