“What Should We Do On The First Apperance?”

First, thanks for the great site and all the information.

My wife failed to stop for a school bus last month (October 14) not intentionally (she remembered the stopped school bus was not flashing the light yet before she started to pass it). A police stopped her right in front of the school bus and gave her a pink summons. She is asked to show on the count in December 4. The pink summons is the only paper she got at the time.

I have a few questions and I really appreciate your help/answer.

1. I knew my wife must show up on the first appearance and to set a trail date. Should we book a latest trail date as possible on the first appearance (11b) but ask a earlier trail date in writing at a later time(Waiver of Time Periods)?

2. If the policeman doesn't show up on the first appearance, can we ask the judge to withdraw the charge right away?

3. One of my friends said the officer need to provide us some documents on the first apperance (not sure the exact name may be initial disclosure and notes?). If we were not given these documents on the first apperance, can we ask the judge to withdraw the charge right away? What time should we take this action, beginning or the end of the court, before or after setting a trail date? Any act to refer to for this?

4. Should we request any disclosure before the first apperance? It is 2 weeks away from now. Or should we bring bring disclosure documents to hand them to the officer on the first apperance?

5. Is there any need to find a paralegal/lawyer for the first apperance? Or we should look into it after the first apperance instead.

6. She has a G license and a clean driving history. She was not given a ticket but instead a summons. Based on the fact, my wife is really worried about the possibility of suspension or imprisonment. Is it possible?

7. She is the second driver in our insurance right now. If she is found guilty, can I remove her from our insurance to avoid it being canceled or big raise by the insurance company? (of course she couldn't drive for at least 2 years then.) But my friend said it may not be an option because the insurance company must insure every family member. I am looking for your opinion.

Thanks a lot.

iflu wrote:7. She is the second driver in our insurance right now. If she is found guilty, can I remove her from our insurance to avoid it being canceled or big raise by the insurance company? (of course she couldn't drive for at least 2 years then.) But my friend said it may not be an option because the insurance company must insure every family member. I am looking for your opinion.

She can sign an exclusion clause where she basically promises never to drive the car. If she does, it is the same as driving without insurance.

1. I knew my wife must show up on the first appearance and to set a trail date. Should we book a latest trail date as possible on the first appearance (11b) but ask a earlier trail date in writing at a later time(Waiver of Time Periods)? ----------try, you never know

2. If the policeman doesn't show up on the first appearance, can we ask the judge to withdraw the charge right away?-----------first appearance is with the prosocuter only---no officer

3. One of my friends said the officer need to provide us some documents on the first apperance (not sure the exact name may be initial disclosure and notes?). If we were not given these documents on the first apperance, can we ask the judge to withdraw the charge right away? What time should we take this action, beginning or the end of the court, before or after setting a trail date? Any act to refer to for this? ------Um, no. See answer to Question #2

4. Should we request any disclosure before the first apperance? It is 2 weeks away from now. Or should we bring bring disclosure documents to hand them to the officer on the first apperance? ----Wait till you have a court date

5. Is there any need to find a paralegal/lawyer for the first apperance? Or we should look into it after the first apperance instead.---after, although they may get the charge dropped faster

6. She has a G license and a clean driving history. She was not given a ticket but instead a summons. Based on the fact, my wife is really worried about the possibility of suspension or imprisonment. Is it possible? ----The penalties are not usually maxed out on a first offence. If your wife was charged with this say 3-4 times, then maybe she'd go to jail.

7. She is the second driver in our insurance right now. If she is found guilty, can I remove her from our insurance to avoid it being canceled or big raise by the insurance company? (of course she couldn't drive for at least 2 years then.) But my friend said it may not be an option because the insurance company must insure every family member. I am looking for your opinion. ----Squishy covered that

Squishy wrote:

iflu wrote:7. She is the second driver in our insurance right now. If she is found guilty, can I remove her from our insurance to avoid it being canceled or big raise by the insurance company? (of course she couldn't drive for at least 2 years then.) But my friend said it may not be an option because the insurance company must insure every family member. I am looking for your opinion.

She can sign an exclusion clause where she basically promises never to drive the car. If she does, it is the same as driving without insurance.

Thank you for the great tip. If the insurance company cancels her insurance, can I at that point provide such an exclusion clause to keep my insurance only (or instead I should act before that happens)?

Thanks!

Reflections wrote:1. I knew my wife must show up on the first appearance and to set a trail date. Should we book a latest trail date as possible on the first appearance (11b) but ask a earlier trail date in writing at a later time(Waiver of Time Periods)? ----------try, you never know

2. If the policeman doesn't show up on the first appearance, can we ask the judge to withdraw the charge right away?-----------first appearance is with the prosocuter only---no officer

3. One of my friends said the officer need to provide us some documents on the first apperance (not sure the exact name may be initial disclosure and notes?). If we were not given these documents on the first apperance, can we ask the judge to withdraw the charge right away? What time should we take this action, beginning or the end of the court, before or after setting a trail date? Any act to refer to for this? ------Um, no. See answer to Question #2

4. Should we request any disclosure before the first apperance? It is 2 weeks away from now. Or should we bring bring disclosure documents to hand them to the officer on the first apperance? ----Wait till you have a court date

5. Is there any need to find a paralegal/lawyer for the first apperance? Or we should look into it after the first apperance instead.---after, although they may get the charge dropped faster

6. She has a G license and a clean driving history. She was not given a ticket but instead a summons. Based on the fact, my wife is really worried about the possibility of suspension or imprisonment. Is it possible? ----The penalties are not usually maxed out on a first offence. If your wife was charged with this say 3-4 times, then maybe she'd go to jail.

7. She is the second driver in our insurance right now. If she is found guilty, can I remove her from our insurance to avoid it being canceled or big raise by the insurance company? (of course she couldn't drive for at least 2 years then.) But my friend said it may not be an option because the insurance company must insure every family member. I am looking for your opinion. ----Squishy covered that

Thanks for all the answers and that was so prompt! I guess I should just go ahead with my wife and see what we can get from the first appearance.

iflu wrote:Thank you for the great tip. If the insurance company cancels her insurance, can I at that point provide such an exclusion clause to keep my insurance only (or instead I should act before that happens)?

Thanks!

Sorry for the late reply, I've been doing basement renovations and haven't had much time for OHTA. It's a tricky thing; you might get a good agent who will work with you to get the best result, or you could get an agent who will immediately go to the underwriting department to "ask" if your policy should be cancelled. However, with a clean record, I doubt your policy would be cancelled with just one conviction. Your rates may not even go up, depending on your driving histories and your history with that insurance company. In my opinion, the worst case with regards to your insurance policy will be a large rate increase come renewal time, in which case you can either shop around for a more forgiving company, or put her on your policy as an excluded driver.