Ontario Highway Traffic Act

I have two new posts up about time delays in court and the provincial government's strategy to deal with it. Check it out.

http://simonborys.wordpress.com

There is no set time whereby the must move a case forward. Everyone is protected by the Charter against unreasonable delay, but in real life it's open to either side to argue that it has gone on too long, or hasn't.

If the crown proceeds without the certificate they will have a hard time proving the suspension was in force at the time, since the ...

Thoughts? Should I have bought a lottery ticket?
No.

Requests for documents from the MTO can sometimes take a while. You're right that they can't enter the document as evidence if it hasn't been disclosed to your first, but if your trial date comes up and the don't have it yet or they have it but you haven't seen it yet, the prosecutor will ...

Well, there is always room for negotiation, though you don't have much buying power in this situation Depending on what you're looking for will determine the likelihood of getting a plea. If you're only looking to get it down to 29km/hr that's very likely. If you're looking to get it down to a 10 over, that's less likely.

If this is exactly how it happened it's another example of an officer with no discretion giving all police a bad image. And this is why I want to be a defence lawyer!

Good point! The only issue is that if he doesn't show up and they go for a 9.1 conviction and the JP doesn't notice it then he gets the conviction and has to appeal.

First question is whether I have to attend the court in Kingston to appeal the ticket (fight it)
Yes

Secondly, is it always a guarantee that they will offer a plea bargain?
No, but it is often the case, especially if you are only seeking a small reduction in speed.

Also, I'm new to this forum and have read about requesting notes of ...

scratchproof wrote:Now there is a provision in the hway t/act that I can make the turn, if I got permission from other driver

No there isn't.

Although the set fine no longer applies to a charge once it's gone to trial, prosecutors usually still ask for the set fine if they get a conviction, unless there is a record of prior convictions for similar or same offences.

Fail to surrender licence and no validation on plate are each $110 fines. Validation not furnished is a no set fine charge ...

You could try calling the court house to find out the status of your disclosure, but your plan sounds appropriate given the circumstances.

What all were you charged with?

Pacing is a perfectly acceptable way for an officer to measure your speed, assuming the did it correctly. They need to have followed you for an (approximately) measured distance while maintaining a constant following distance and observing their own speedometer. If this is what the officer did then the fact that they didn't use a radar or laser to ...

I can't advise you whether you should hire a paralegal or not. If they fight it you could have the ticket dismissed, or you could be convicted. Same thing if you represent yourself. The likelihood of the ticket being dismissed depends upon the merits of you specific case.

If you are convicted you will receive the points, that is non negotiable ...

That is correct, an officer has to follow you for a measured distance, however that distance does not have to be exact, nor does the speed have to be constant.

Also, an officer can pace you from a different lane, as long as they are running parallel to you and the distance remains constant.

A visual observation is not hearsay. But to answer your question, a visual observation is not sufficient evidence to lay a speeding charge. An approved speed measuring device must be used to confirm the officer's visual observations that the vehicle was traveling above the posted speed limit.

Pacing is also an approved way of measuring speed ...