“Use Of Handheld Device...even Though I Wasn't Using It?!?!”

Ok, so here's the scenario...

I was driving through downtown of a small city (Pembroke, Ontario) on a bright, Saturday afternoon...end of July. I drive a small car - standard. My cell phone is sitting in the seat beside me, plugged into my aux jack - and my power supply.

Phone goes off, BECAUSE phone is in hands-free mode - over my internal speakers, I tell the phone to answer. A few seconds later, I see a OPP officer, coming off the sidewalk in front of me, flagging me over to the side of the road.

Officer says I was using my phone. I explain I was not, as it's sitting right beside me. I drive a standard - so I had one hand on the wheel, one hand on the gear stick (as again, I'm driving downtown on a busy Saturday, so I'm changing gears constinently). He asks if I have blue-tooth, advise him that I do NOT, but the phone runs through the audio jack in my car (all the while, my son is blabbering through the car - as I'm still on the phone with him). Cop walks away with my info and comes back with a $280 ticket............

So, today I get info from the prosecutor - "apparently"...the officer say my phone in my RIGHT hand (funny, as it was on the gear shifter). Claims that I had denied using my phone, even though it was in my hand when I was talking to him (yes, because I was SHOWING him, it's hooked up through my car).

I took pictures of the front of my car - with me in it, and out of it. Showing how difficult it would be to see from the front.....what is actually going on. I took screenshots from phone, showing what is enabled when hands-free is enabled (as per section (3) of this same act...says operation IS allowed of a cellular device within handsfree mode. I also took photos of the interior of my car, showing the speaker.....showing the AUX cable and jack.

Court date is set in a few weeks....wondering thoughts on my defense?

For me, this ticket has now become a matter of principle....it is one thing to write a ticket in ERROR......it is another to blatantly lie about it. I only have 2 hands - I cannot drive in stop/go traffic, on a busy summer afternoon....while driving my standard....and talking on the phone.

thats bad,,, and one thing I'm worried about

if the cop says HE SAW YOU and he didn't, then of course that's lying, isnt it pervert. course just.?

your word against him,

thats one reason I want to get a dashcam for back, front and inside

also if true, then one cop as usual spoils it for the rest

good luck

It is crazy...a friend said the same thing - it's your word against his.

As I said, I took photos from the front of my car...to show just "how" much can be seen from the front. The incident occurred in down town, on a bright, summer day. If the phone was in my RIGHT hand (as he's claiming....not left) - then how was I able to change gears? I'm sure plenty of people out there drive a manual transmission vehicle - he didn't say left hand (because that was on the wheel)....foot is switching between clutch and brake/gas.....RIGHT hand, would be on the gear shift.......yet, he claims he saw (through the windshield) me holding a phone?

For me...this isn't guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It doesn't take a lot of brain power to see....something isn't adding up here.

I'm hoping the JP see's it the same way.....

Sadly, this irritates me. I have children - whom I'm raising to be honest, good people. Teaching them that the police ARE good people. But now, I'm faced with a situation that I full blown KNOW....this officer is now lieing to cover up the "shred" of doubt about a simple traffic stop? The pulled my driving record.....been over 6 years since I had any sort of driving convictions. I'm not a habitual ticket receiver....I was doing exactly what the LAW tells me to do (operate my phone in hands-free mode)....sad, sad sad.

Our great un-justice at work again!

*** So you really need to get a grasp on how a trial works ***

Prosecutor will call officer to witness stand and ask him all the questions to get answers they need.

You then get to cross-examine the officer. This has NOTHING to do with your side of the story! This is where you have to ask the officer lots of questions to try and bring some doubt to what he said and to try and show he was wrong with what he said. Don't get stuck in trying to tell your side of the story here, just concentrate on asking lots of questions. You can show the officer pictures of your vehicle and ask questions about that as well. And you definitely want to concentrate "him seeing you holding phone" as that is the primary element of the charge that they need to prove (so you need to discredit it).

Once you are done your cross-examination, the prosecutor will get to ask officer more questions (if they want) but only specifically about clarifying anything you brought up in cross excamination, and then you will get a chance to cross-examine the officer again with regards to these new questions the prosecutor asked.

When you are done, the JP will then ask if you want to call any witnesses, and you would say yes that you want to testify. Now you get up and describe your side of the story in as much detail as you can and you could also show pictures and comment on them at this time as well.

The prosecutor will then get to cross examine you and ask you a bunch of questions.

When you are done, the prosecutor will make their closing statements and say why you should be found guilty.

You will then make you closing statements and say why you should not be found guilty. It is important to bring up all the "doubt" you raised in officers testimony and how your testimony shows you are not guilty.

*** Now if it is simply your testimony against the officers testimony, the JP will most likely side the officer and you will lose. So to make your case stronger you need to also bring reasonable doubt to the officers testimony in cross examination. If you can raise some doubt to what the officer said AND you testify that you were not on your phone, you then have a chance of winning. ***

what jsherk says, can't add anything to that

and I hear ya, back in the day (40 years ago) in a land of tea and crumpets, our folks used to teach us the same thing, we also had a healthy respect for the law, always spoke the truth.

dude, nowadays I live by the following code

1> don't trust anyone, they have to proove your trust

2> when the *EDIT* goes don't, don't tell the truth (but don't lie) get legal advise

3> I teach my daughter to be good, kind, look out for others, but don't trust LEO or similar blindly and watch whet you say at all times

sad but true

chaos2034 wrote:Sadly, this irritates me. I have children - whom I'm raising to be honest, good people. Teaching them that the police ARE good people. But now, I'm faced with a situation that I full blown KNOW....this officer is now lieing to cover up the "shred" of doubt about a simple traffic stop? The pulled my driving record.....been over 6 years since I had any sort of driving convictions. I'm not a habitual ticket receiver....I was doing exactly what the LAW tells me to do (operate my phone in hands-free mode)....sad, sad sad.