OHTA.ca

I was stopped the other day well over half a kilometer away from the intersection where i allegedly went through a red light. i was stopped after i was behind a building, so the officer had lost sight of me for at least 30 seconds, also the ticket i was issued my yellow copy was not signed by the officer nor did he include his badge, platoon or unit number. any suggestions on the best way to proceed i have submitted for a court date and am waiting.

thanks dkaszper

There is no "best way". The process for you will be the same as for everybody else. Get your first attendance date, speak to the prosecutor, address the issues with him, he will either withdraw or say no deal if he thinks he can get a conviction (or he will offer a plea). If there is no deal you go to trial and address your issues with the JP and see what they say. It's pretty much the same in every case. The only time people really need advice is when they want to go for a trial but they have no idea what they're going to do once they get there. Sounds like you already have a good idea what your arguments will be.

No signature? At all? If the ticket was electronically written, then it's still valid... but otherwise, for most tickets, the signature is required or it is a fatal error.

As for losing sight for 30 seconds, that argument may or may not work. The "sight lost" has to be sufficient such that it would be reasonable that a similar vehicle could've popped onto the roadway. Depending on the area you were in, 30 seconds might not be enough time, but I can't say for sure...

dkaszper wrote:my yellow copy was not signed

Radar Identified wrote:If the ticket was electronically written, then it's still valid...

Radar. Are those tickets yellow also? I've seen a couple but i don't remember.

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thanks for your replies everyone, the ticket was hand written so does that make it a fatal error

An unsigned handwritten ticket should be quashed.

so I'm still waiting for a date, i know what my arguments are if i need to go in front of the JP but don't know how to go about the whole trail thing any helpful hints or suggestions would be much appreciated

thanks again

Provincial Offences Act can be confusing at times to an untrained individuals. It is always best to allow professionals handle court work. It would be shame if win-win situation turned out to be oops...I did not know it may turn out that way.

P.S. Look out for an amendment after service.