“Fail To Obey Stop Sign (fought, Adjourned, Help!)”

I received a ticket for failing to obey a stop sign in January 2013. Officer said it was a rolling stop. I requested disclosure and she wrote 15km/h in her notes, but did not radar me. The speed limit was 50km/h in the area. I fully intended to stop, and I yielded caution as it was a 4 way stop and proceeded only when it was safe to do so.

I took it to court this past week and armed with the "knowledge" of Ticketcombat - got my trial adjourned for another 2 months. I say "knowledge" because it was adjourned since the JP and prosecutor felt that I needed to seek legal counsel to receive a fair trial as my questions apparently were not relevant. I nearly directly copied the questions from the website section specific to fighting a stop sign ticket and basically got laughed out of court. The prosecutor objected several times to my questions (most of which were asking if the officer saw my vehicle slow down, to which she testified she did not, even though she wrote 15km/h and the speed limit is 50km/h) and the JP agreed with the prosecutor. I asked about her estimate of speed and other similar questions and they were all objected.

The JP then asked if I would like to take the stand for my defense. I said that I would like to exercise my right not to take the stand. The JP had an extremely puzzled look and stared at me, then the prosecutor. The prosecutor then said that it was basically ridiculous that I would not take the stand at my own defense, and the JP agreed. I stated again that I would not like to take the stand (this is my first ticket and they could easily trip me up accidentally). They basically tried to force me into taking the stand, which I feel was being taken advantage of since I don't understand 100% of the legal system. I only did a lot of reading on ticketcombat prior to my trial.

So the JP suggested I seek legal counsel and adjourned my trial for 2 months. Which I thought was strange but good given all the objections presented by the prosecutor and agreeing JP.

So my questions now, how do I proceed? What questions should I be asking? Apparently I focused on speed way too much is what the prosecutor told me after the trial.

They did not provide me with the by-law for the stop sign but I could see them taking advantage of me in court again. I did not argue improper disclosure at the time.

Please help! Thanks

If the trial has reached the point where its your opportunity to take the stand, you wont have any further opportunity to question the officer. Id also hesitate a guess that if the JP is surprised youre not taking the stand, youve yet to raise a reasonable doubt against the Crowns evidence. Thats not to say you should take the stand, but it might not hurt to seek professional legal advice.

Ticket combat is a great site with lots of great advice but dont use it as your only source of information.