Hey there,

I am just wondering if anyone out there has gone to trial or meet with prosecutor for a traffic ticket for hand held commincation device.

Was anyone successful in fighting the ticket it or having the charge/fine reduced?

Thanks!

This is a hard one to beat but you need disclosure before you really know how to fight it.

Plead not guilty and request a trial with the officer present. Once you get your notice of trial with a trial date, then you can request disclosure (officers notes). Once you get the disclosure post it here so we can review it.

hand-held has become a difficult charge to fight; the prosecution only needs to show evidence that you had the device in your hand; they don't need to prove that it was working (ie. no battery) or that it was in use (ie. making a call, texting)

R. v. Pizzurro, 2013 ONCA 584 (CanLII)

R. v. Kazemi, 2013 ONCA 585 (CanLII)

[14] Road safety is best ensured by a complete prohibition on having a cell phone in ones hand at all while driving. A complete prohibition also best focuses a drivers undivided attention on driving. It eliminates any risk of the driver being distracted by the information on the cell phone. It removes any temptation to use the cell phone while driving. And it prevents any possibility of the cell phone physically interfering with the drivers ability to drive. In short, it removes the various ways that road safety and driver attention can be harmed if a driver has a cell phone in his or her hand while driving.

Set Fine: $400

Victim Surcharge: $85

Court Fee: $5

Total Fine: $490

Although this may be unrelated, I did have a friend who was charged with 78.1 but had the old fine of $280. The crown refused to offer any plea deals because the new fine was $490 and carried three demerit points.

I would hazard a guess, that they may reduce the fine to the ~$300 range.

iFly55 wrote:I would hazard a guess, that they may reduce the fine to the ~$300 range.

How? Doesn't prosecution need to change the section of HTA being charged in order for the fine to change accordingly?

Or he/she can simply change the set amount?

Set fines are basically the "default" fine. Unless theres a set minimum amount, the Crown can pretty much ask for whatever fine they want. The Crown simply tells the Court that theres a "joint submission" (defendant and Crown both agreeing on an amount) and the Justice of the Peace then (hopefully) allows it. Technically, the J.P. could decline the submission and go with a higher fine, but there would have to be some exceptional reason why (i.e. ridiculously low fine in a fatal car crash that would cause public outrage). For run of the mill tickets, I dont think Ive ever seen a J.P. not accept a joint submission and actually impose a higher fine.