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Disclosure Never Comes

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:13 am
by spadina

I have a trial next month. I requested disclosure via FAX the day after I received my notice of trial and with one week to go before the trial date it still has not arrived. Any advice? Do I ask again or hope it doesn't ever come and hope the case gets thrown out on that basis at trial?


Re: Disclosure Never Comes

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:42 am
by manwithaplan

How long before your court date did you request disclosure? If you gave them an appropriate amount of time and they didn't get it to you with enough time to prepare a defence, or before your court date, then you could request an adjournment of the case, but make sure it's placed as a result of the courts failure to provide you with time to go over the evidence. Then you have means to file an 11b if it's the adjournment has precluded in your next court date taking place in a long while after your offence happened.


However, you still have to state this in a way the court will accept. You may consider hiring a paralegal if you have no experience in this, especially consider the seriousness of a careless ticket....


Re: Disclosure Never Comes

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:58 am
by spadina

I received the trial notice six weeks before the trial date and requested disclosure 2 days after having received the trial notice in the mail. I have read elsewhere that you should give the prosecutor 8 weeks notice, but that was not possible in this case.


Also, will the court expect me to send a second request? Does that even make sense a week before the trial?


Re: Disclosure Never Comes

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:50 pm
by manwithaplan

It couldn't hurt to send a second request, just make sure you have proof of the requests you sent in (time and date stamped). It would (presumably) show your due diligence.


I checked a little more into my previous situation, and I received the notice of trail May 2nd or 3rd, but the date on the notice said it was issued April 19. In any case, my paralegal filed for disclosure within a few days after that, and my court date was on July 7th. The courts gave us the disclosure two days before the 7th (which would be the 5th), and we used this to file a successful 11b.


I'm almost certain that you have to give the courts either two or four weeks notice. Eight weeks doesn't ring any bells in my head. At any rate, like you say, you couldn't of filed for disclosure any earlier than you did (give or take a day or two), so, provided you have a time/date stamped proof of when you first filed for it, you should be golden. Just keep checking with the courts during the following week to make sure whether or not they have it ready.


Just make sure, if you move to adjourn the trial, make sure the courts put it down as them being at fault for it (failing to provide you with disclosure/failing to provide you with disclosure with adequate time to prepare a defence).