Question:
A few days ago I learned a lesson about not arguing with a police officer. I got stopped for running a red light and after getting in an argument with him I drove away with a fist full of tickets. Red light. No insurance card. Not ‘surrendering’ my driver’s license. Apparently, my license plate cover ‘obscures’ it. And allegedly not changing lanes safely when I pulled over which is bogus. The cop was a complete jerk and these charges are just because he was angry because I know my rights.
Response:
I’m sorry to hear that you had such a bad roadside interaction with the police officer. Most police officers are generally professional and courteous when dealing with the public. For now let’s set that aside and deal with the legal problem that you are currently in. You appear to have been issued five offence notices. I would need to review your tickets to give you accurate feedback on demerit point penalties. The red light charge is likely a 3 demerit point offence and the lane change offence is likely a 2 or 3 demerit point offence depending on what section of the Highway Traffic Act you’ve been charged under. The remaining offences are likely 0 demerit point offences, but we do still need to address them as they will result in a record of conviction on your driver’s license if they are allowed to stand.
My immediate concern in your situation will be the number and amount of fines pending, pending demerit points should you be convicted and their impact on your license, and the impact of any convictions upon your insurance. The first step is to get in touch with my office so that we can gather your information in more detail and your tickets. Once retained as your legal representative we will have the tickets filed with the court on your behalf. The court process can be a slow one generally taking anywhere from a half year to a year to complete, but so long as we have the tickets filed with the court before the filing deadline the offences will not be visible on your driving record in the meanwhile.
Once a court date has been set for your matter we will be able to file with the Prosecutor’s Office for a full disclosure of their evidence against you. Generally, once this evidence has been received and reviewed, we should have a reasonable appraisal of the strength of the Prosecutor’s case against you for each offence. Our paralegals deal with Prosecutors on a regular basis in evaluating the merits of their evidence and negotiating on behalf of our clients. Ideally, we want to argue for a complete withdrawal of all five charges if there is a legally meritorious basis to do so. If the charges are withdrawn they simply go away without any record to your driving history or any penalty issued against you by the court.
Sometimes damage control in reducing the number of charges and/or reducing the nature of the offences is the best-case resolution that can be negotiated on your behalf. We can certainly look at any potential resolutions and review them with you to determine whether they are worth accepting, whether we can likely further negotiate with the Prosecutor for a better deal, or whether trial would have a reasonable expectation of a better outcome. We can certainly help navigate you through this process and provide you with guidance through each step of the process to make informed decisions in your best interests.
Do You Need To Defend Yourself Against An Ontario Traffic Ticket?
If you need to defend your driving rights against an Ontario traffic ticket you should contact us as soon as possible. We have skill and experience in helping drivers just like you respond to a variety of traffic tickets and provide free, confidential consultations to empower you to fight your charges. We help drivers throughout Ontario including Cambridge, Georgetown, London, Windsor and from our home office in Kitchener. Contact us online or call us directly at 1.844.647.6869 or text us a copy of your ticket to 226-240-2480.