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Hi,

So I am new to this forum. I need some advice and help.

So here is my story, I was driving normally and wanted to make a right turn at the next intersection. So I slowed down and came to a complete stop right before the pedestrian cross walk since it was a red light for me. To make sure my way was clear to make my right turn I had to inch forward a bit to look at traffic flowing in the direction i want to make my right turn at. So at this point my car would be over the pedestrian crosswalk. Prior to this I looked both ways to make sure no pedestrians were in sight and so that is when I inched forward. So now my car is over the crosswalk and I am waiting for traffic to clear to make my right turn. After waiting for about 10-15 seconds I see a women who is banging/slapping my hood and yelling at me. I figured she was just angry cause I was blocking her way. Then she walked to the side of my car and started yelling at me that She is going to report me. I figured she was just crazy and there was nothing really i can do. If i had stayed she would just get more frustrated. So I figured if I just complete my right turn safely we could both just be on our seperate ways.

A month later I got a call from a detective saying i was involved in a motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian and that they need me to come make a statement at the police station. So I went in and told them the story and the detective charged me with 3 summons

1.Careless driving

2.Failure to report an accident

3.Failure to remain at an accident.

I hired a paralegal and they got the evidence and everything, I had my first trial date not to long ago and she never showed up. The prosecutor was pretty young and inexperienced and the detective had to pretty much help her do her job and try his best to convict me. So anyways the witness never showed up and the detective claims he called her 2 days prior and said she was sick. The prosecutor asked for an adjournment and was granted it. Now I have my next court date in 2 months

What are my chances of getting these all dropped?

I feel like she is just doing this to try and get a settlement from my insurance company. These are serious charges and each one can pretty much suspend my license or give me jail time which i don't think will happen because detective says she claims she has minor soft tissue injuries. The police report my paralegal obtained says she was released from the hospital with no injuries. So I don't even understand how this case even got this far. Basically it is my word against her word. I just wanted to hear some opinions and see what other people think about this

I'm not sure about the rest of your questions, but maybe for the benefit of other people who are reading this

1> If you have to go to a police station to make a statement, go lawyered up, Police are not your friends, they wanna lock you up and or charge you, despite being innocent unless otherwise proven

it usually works the other way, don't believe anything, know your rights, as my friend JSHERK would advocate

2> I would not have driven off, especially if someone had claimed you had hit them, you didn't stop or get out of the vehicle, you did essential fail to stop and remain at TSOAA, just to cover you, get out and swap details and or get a witness

Feel your pain, hopefully someone with some better experience than me will be along soon

No, that's the thing i screwed myself because I did not know. I am an honest person and i went down to the station just to clear things up. After hiring my paralegal, I now know that I did not have to make a statement and I would not have been in this situation. |There is nothing I can do about it now though, all I can do is fight it or try to take a plea bargain. But I dont wan't to plead guilty to something I did't do

I hear you, I can't go into details,but

I had a "meeting" with the police a few years back, they first didn't tell me they where the police, they rang me Friday afternoon and LEFT a fricckin voice mail on my cell.

They HAD known about this since the morning, (leaving it so I didnt have time to think)

They just came across as being "hi my name is Sally from, XYZ department..". then they made it out like it was just "come in for a meeting"

I was officially interviewed by the police in a locked room

(actually I wasn't even read my rights), BUT afterwards I WAS exonerated, despite no evidence against me and it was MY word against the accusation and ACTUALLY no charges where formally laid

The only "apology" I got at the time, was I'm sorry, but this does happen,very sorry to put you through this...

I WAS EXONERATED, but that doesn't help, as there is going to be shown some interaction with me and the police, in some record.

I SHOULD have asked more questions and GONE lawyered up, I am still pretty angry with my interaction and the deceit of the police.

I COULD have done jail time... it was that serious

and ... luckily I was an honest man and it worked out for me

If your honest, you'll get screwed, every time, don't assume EVERYONE has your best intentions at heart especially the law institution, even honest men have spent time in jail right

What does your paralegal advise now ?

dude wrote:No, that's the thing i screwed myself because I did not know. I am an honest person and i went down to the station just to clear things up. After hiring my paralegal, I now know that I did not have to make a statement and I would not have been in this situation. |There is nothing I can do about it now though, all I can do is fight it or try to take a plea bargain. But I dont wan't to plead guilty to something I did't do

I need to go speak with him. Not sure if the guy who represented me gave my paralegal the details of the outcome as of yet but I will follow up with the paralegal some time this week.

So first of all, I hope your paralegal was pushing for the charge to withdrawn and did NOT agree to a new trial date. No witness means the charges should be dropped.

Second, if the witness does not show up at the next trial then you TELL your paralegal that you will absolutely NOT accept another adjournment. They work for you, so you can tell them what to do. They should object to any more adjournments and be pushing for charges to be withdrawn.

Third, I hope your paralegal received a copy of the witnesses statement from the prosecution before the trial started.

Four, if the witness does show up, then it will be a he said she said thing and it depends who the JP believes the most. It will also depend on how good your paralegal is at cross-examination in order to try and bring doubt to what the witness was saying.

@jsherk

1.Yes my representative defending me told the justice of the peace that I had wasted a work day coming here and if this gets adjourned not only will I have to waste another work day I also will incur more legal fees to bring him back. He told them that this is not fair for my client. The JP replied saying no the witness is sick and is entitled to get better and have a chance to show up being well. She further added that if I was the one sick then she would have offered the same treatment.

2. My representative also mentioned this that if she does not show up a second time these charges must absolutely be dropped. The JP further replied saying I can't make promises like that. However it is most likely going to be a different prosecutor and JP the next time I show up as the next date was according to the detectives schedule not the prosecutors schedule.

3. My paralegal already got the evidence disclosed her statement is basicallly what the police officer at the station typed out in her report she filed.

4. This is what my paralegal kept repeating to me. Still the JP usually always favours the plaintiff or the "victim", very rare does the JP favour the defendant because they already assume you are guilty.

Illness will always get an adjournment. If they just failed to attend then that is another matter entirely.

My experience of JPs is different than above. Maybe I've just been fortunate but I have found JPs to be very non-biased, sometimes even verging on the side of the defendant. I would have thought that it would be possible to mount a credible reasonable-doubt argument based on the original post.

argyll wrote:Illness will always get an adjournment. If they just failed to attend then that is another matter entirely.

My experience of JPs is different than above. Maybe I've just been fortunate but I have found JPs to be very non-biased, sometimes even verging on the side of the defendant. I would have thought that it would be possible to mount a credible reasonable-doubt argument based on the original post.

I feel like she is afraid to show up because if she does, she might be found lying and she will get into trouble. Anyways if she does show up on the second court date, would I be able to ask her for a doctors note to prove she was acually ill and not just wasting my time. Because if she does not have a doctors note that can used to prove she is not a credible witness and her word will be thrown out the window.

I would immediately send a letter to the prosecutions office making that request. It can't hurt.

jsherk wrote:I would immediately send a letter to the prosecutions office making that request. It can't hurt.

What request are you referring to ?

I would ask the prosecution (as soon as possible, in writing) to ask the witness to bring a doctors note with her to the next trial date to prove she was sick.

jsherk wrote:I would ask the prosecution (as soon as possible, in writing) to ask the witness to bring a doctors note with her to the next trial date to prove she was sick.

Okay will do. Thanks for the help, I will ask my paralegal to ask for the doctors note.

jsherk wrote:I would ask the prosecution (as soon as possible, in writing) to ask the witness to bring a doctors note with her to the next trial date to prove she was sick.

So I emailed my paralegal today and he said we cannot make that kind of request. The crown believed the officer and they will not pursue it any further than that. That she does not require a doctors letter or not to prove that she was sick.

I would say that there is nothing from stopping you or your paralegal from making the request. The prosecution may not follow thru and/or may refuse to ask the witness to bring one, but that does not stop you from being able to ask for it.