Possession Of A Radar Detector--how To Fight It?
I recently visited Canada and was pulled over on Highway 401 in London. I could not believe it because I did not think I was doing anything wrong except driving with Illinois license plates! The reason I was pulled over was for the possession of a speed detection device. Section 79 (2) of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. I am guilty of that. I thought it was a ridiculous ticket considering other cars were roaring past me! When the officer told me he pulled me over solely for possession of the radar detector, he initially took the device. After he wrote the ticket, he gave me the radar detector back, but placed it in my trunk. I want to fight this case if I have a chance to win.
My defense would simply be that the officer does not have any evidence of a crime. If a cop arrests an offender for possession of drugs, the drugs must be collected for evidence and introduced by the prosecutor at trial. If a felon is charged with possession of a gun, the gun must be produced at trial. They need the "corpus delicti" or body of the crime. If evidence is not collected, there is no case for the prosecutor. That's the way it would work in the United States. In this case, the prosecutor would essentially be seeking a conviction for possession of a radar detector minus the radar detector.
My questions are:
(1) Is this a defendable case? (It concerns me that the law does not require the officer to collect the device)
(2) What is the burden of proof in a traffic case in Ontario?
(3) Does a traffic offender have the right not to testify in a traffic case? (I am not going to commit perjury to save $170!)
(4) Does a traffic offender have the right to a jury trial or are all of these cases bench trials before a judge?
If a traffic offender has a right to a jury trial, is there a standard book with jury instructions?