OHTA.ca

Hi all,

I will be heading to court shortly and plan to dispute my ticket.

I have read many places online about not arriving to your trial date (and being found guilty) and then appealing because there is a fatal flaw on the ticket (incorrect fine amount).

I have opted not to do that, but would rather use it to my advantage in court to help discredit the officer. Is this a fool's errand, or is it something I can take advantage of?

The officer has charged me the amount under the schedule for "Community safety zone", although we were not in a Community Safety Zone.

If that's the case it should probably be quashed. You can bring it up with the prosecutor before the trial and see what they say. If their answer is not to your liking you can try to convince the JP that the ticket should be quashed.

Thanks for the info Simon.

I should clarify just to be certain. The offence doesn't say that it is in a community safety zone, but the amount of the fine is that of. Does this still apply?

Also, most of what I've read has indicated that I shouldn't advise the prosecutor of anything before trial.. Is this an exception?

Regardless, the fine is wrong, which should result in it being quashed. If you bring it to the prosecutor's attention they may just withdraw the ticket, eliminating the need for you to have to show up in court and ask the JP to quash it. I guess it also gives them the opportunity to issue you a corrective summons for the charge, but I really don't see them doing it for a minor HTA offence.

Perhaps one of the paralegals on here could give you a better idea of what to do.