“Driving Under Suspension”

Back in 2010 my boyfriend was pulled over and ticketed twice. The first ticket he received was for going 30km over the speed limit (4 demerit points + fine) and the second ticket he received was for failure to stop at a red light (3 demerit points + fine). He forgot to pay these fines and early this year he was pulled over again for not wearing his seatbelt. At that time they told him that his license was suspended (which he was not aware of) and they also ticketed him because the insurance and registration he had with him in the car was expired a few days (even though it was renewed, he just didn't have the renewed stub with him). They summoned him to court for his First Attendance which he appeared and the prosecutors advised him to pay off the original speeding and failure to stop fines, reinstate his license and seek legal advice before returning in two months time for a possible resolution. Reading over the disclosure, I noticed in the synopsis they wrote the wrong car brand and I can't seem to figure out the dollar amounts of the fines (they aren't stated anywhere). I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to fight this in court? Specifically, how to prove that he was not aware of the suspension. Also, is it too late to fight the two original tickets of speeding and failure to stop at a red?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Please keep in my that my boyfriend is a student (23 years old), he's working full time on a low-wage job trying to pay off bills and has no other record. He knows he's made some mistakes but he really can't afford to pay off all of these huge fines right now.

I think it would be pretty hard to argue he wasnt aware of the suspension if he failed to pay his fines. Might be worth consulting with legal representation if the Crown isnt willing to offer a deal. As for the past tickets, they can be reopened, but only with good reason. Again, simply forgetting about them probably wont be considered sufficient by the Court, especially with the time delay.

In terms of the wrong car model, thats a pretty minor error that probably wouldnt help much in Court. Since your BF was summoned, there are no set fines. The Justice of the Peace will determine what the fines are if your BF is convicted.

If he follows the Crowns advice, pays off his fines and gets his licence reinstated, they might let him plea to a less serious offence, such as drive no licence. There wouldnt be the automatic suspension and it would have a much less serious insurance implications.

Edit: Here are the fines.

Drive suspend - Minimum $1,000, max $5,000 on a first offence

Expired ownership $110

Expired insurance slip $65