“Hta 144(10) - Need Advice For 1st Time In Court”

Hi forum, in September I was stopped and ticketed for turning right at a red light without coming to a full stop. It was a 3 way intersection (T shaped) , with no cars in or near the intersection. Upon approaching the intersection I could see that there were no pedestrians or vehicles both ways, I performed a rolling stop and proceeded to turn as there was literally no one around. The officer had his car parked about 50-100m down the road and was observing the intersection from the sidewalk. After turning, he walked out slowly onto the road to stop me.

I was charged with the offense of Disobey Lane Light (HTA 144[10]). While talking with the officer he was unable to tell me whether I'd be facing demerit points for my offense (part of the reason i'm fighting the ticket in the first place), also, he assured me I wasn't being pulled over for any "personal" reasons and that he was there after requests from people in the area wanting a safer intersection. I don't understand why he had to tell me he was being indiscriminate with his ticketing, hopefully not because I'm white and he was black. Regardless, I understood his position and said I wasn't a danger to anyone since there was no one around. The best part was that while he had stopped me numerous cars were obviously speeding past us, posing more of a threat to the area than I ever did.

I received my trial date, set for March 10th, while the notice itself was dated January 6th. This caused 2 problems.

1 - I attend university and have class during the time of the trial.

2 - I wanted to do a disclosure request but it says requests must be submitted 3 months prior to the date. Information I would have known if the notice didnt come only 2 months before my trial.

If anyone has some advice it would be greatly appreciated, especially if anyone knows the chances of getting an adjournment of the trial.

Thanks! Sincerely GP

GPc16 wrote:I was stopped and ticketed for turning right at a red light without coming to a full stop. It was a 3 way intersection (T shaped) , with no cars in or near the intersection. Upon approaching the intersection I could see that there were no pedestrians or vehicles both ways, I performed a rolling stop and proceeded to turn as there was literally no one around.

No cars, no pedestrians... it's all irrelevant unless you want to prove your guilt all by yourself. What you're being charged with is an absolute liability offense. What that means is there's only two scenarios (1) You stopped (2) You didn't stop. If this goes all the way to trial, you will have to prove you made a complete stop. There is no middle ground. "I didn't completely stop but..." means you're guilty.

I'm not sure what you said in a conversation with the officer, but you'd be in a really bad position if you admitted to rolling that stop.

GPc16 wrote:While talking with the officer he was unable to tell me whether I'd be facing demerit points for my offense (part of the reason i'm fighting the ticket in the first place),

It's 3 demerit points. Also, demerit points are overrated unless you're getting pulled over every 3 months. They only last 2 years from the day you were charged and don't show up on your abstract until you're convicted. It's the conviction you have to worry about, not the points.

GPc16 wrote:also, he assured me I wasn't being pulled over for any "personal" reasons and that he was there after requests from people in the area wanting a safer intersection. I don't understand why he had to tell me he was being indiscriminate with his ticketing, hopefully not because I'm white and he was black.

lol, what? I think the officer was trying to tell you that he probably wouldn't have pulled you over on an average day, but it's become an issue at that intersection and they need to set examples.

GPc16 wrote:The best part was that while he had stopped me numerous cars were obviously speeding past us, posing more of a threat to the area than I ever did.

You were caught and they weren't. The rest is irrelevant.

GPc16 wrote:I attend university and have class during the time of the trial.

Find representation or take the day off school.

GPc16 wrote:2 - I wanted to do a disclosure request but it says requests must be submitted 3 months prior to the date. Information I would have known if the notice didnt come only 2 months before my trial.

They need time to process your disclosure request, which is why they say that. If you received your notice of trial and it's 2 months away, you can still request disclosure. If it doesn't come back in time, your court date will be adjourned to another date. Nobody is at fault. They need time to process it and you need time to understand it. The problem is if you have 2 months to send it and you wait until the last week.

Actually the officer gave you a break by charging you with disobey lane light 144(10) instead of failing to stop for a red light 144(18). Not only is the fine significantly less ($110 versus $325) but there are no demerit points (versus 3 for the actual red light offence). So if demerit points is your main concern, you can stop worrying.

My mistake. Stanton is correct. I assumed he had given you a ticket for going though the red.