“Hta 144(18) - Fail To Stop At Red Light Prior To Right Turn”

I got a ticket for failing to stop at a red light prior to making a right hand turn HTA 144(18). The road conditions were wet, slushy & slippery. I did in fact do a rolling stop prior to making the right hand turn due to the road condtions on Saturday January 8th, 2011 (17cm of snow fell from Friday to Saturday - major snowfall). The police officer was a couple of blocks behind me. He pulled me over 3-4 blocks after making the right hand turn & he informed me that I was on video. I have filed for a court date & obtained a cort date of January 10th, 2012 at 9am. I have ordered disclosure & obtained the officers notes yesterday where he quotes " Wet (not slippery) & cold - FTS-WCR-DNS W/B traffic now proceeding through intersection - see video)". However, at the bottom copy of the disclosure there is a copy of the top two inches of another ticket issued by the same officer to a different person on Jan 9th? They informed me that the copy of the video has been ordered & is not ready for pick up.

I have a couple of questions:

As the court date is greater than one year, would this ticket be thrown out? If so, what past president case should I be referencing?

Does the disclosure corrent information help me in any way that the bottom 2" of the copy has information from another ticket not related to my case?

What would be the best defense if I were to fight this ticket alone?

What would be the non-demerit point charge that I should accept if I was offered a plea bargain?

I have a clean driving record. As 3 points are involved in this ticket, should I hire a paralegal to defend this ticket?

Thanks for your help!

Poor weather/slippery roads is irrelevant as it's an absolute liability offence so the Crown only needs to show you didn't stop. The fact that your disclosure included part of another ticket is also irrelevant.

If your matter does take more then a year to reach trial, and none of the delays are attributed to you (i.e. you didn't ask for an adjournment), you can try to proceed with an 11b Charter argument (your right to a speedy trial has been compromised). Do a search of the forums, there are several guides/posts that will walk you through the process. It can be a bit of work, and 12 months is the bare minimum.

If you decide to fight the ticket, you basically need to argue reasonable doubt, i.e. the Crown can't show you failed to stop. Might be tough if there's actual video. Possible plea deal might be to disobey lane light, which carries no demerit points I believe.

FYI, don't get hung up on demerit points. Insurance providers go by number of convictions, regardless of demerit points. The only time I'd worry about points is if you were about to lose your licence because of them.

I will proceed with filing 11b.

Thanks!