OHTA.ca

Great work on this forum - lots of great info. Although, I can't seem to find a specific answer to this question.

GF received 2 tickets. One for expired insurance plates (this was a few days after her bday and she immediately got her new sticker later that day) and one for failure to produce insurance card (had a current one in the glove box with correct dates/policy #s, but apparently not the one with the correct address, which was recently changed).

The charges are pretty cut and dry, but with reasonable explanations it seems the consensus here is that there is some room for leniency in so far as one or more charges being dropped if you can present all the correct documentation.

Question is simple - what option do you choose? 2 or 3? We would like to bring the correct documents in and see if one or more of the charges can be dropped. I'm very confused about the difference between each option. Is option 2 an admission of guilt? At the option 2 meeting can the prosecutor drop one or more of the charges? What's the best course of action?

Would greatly appreciate anyone's insight. Thanks.

Tickets used to be standardized across the Province, but now the options vary somewhat between jurisdictions. Read over the options carefully to ensure youre selecting the right one.

Option 2 may be one of the two things. The first possibility is a "Guilty Plea with Explanation", where you plead guilty to both charges as is. You wont have any meeting with the Crown, and youll be convicted of both offences. The Justice of the Peace may be able to reduce your fines, but youd still have the two convictions on your record. I would NOT select option 2 in this case.

The other possibility is that option 2 will be for an "Early Resolution Meeting", which is what you want. This will allow you to sit down with the Crown first and see if you can reach an agreement. If you dont, you can still go to trial or simply plead guilty and/or ask for leniency with the fines.

Option 3 is the trial route. If option 2 on the back of your ticket only allows for a guilty plea, request a trial. Prior to the trial you should either be offered or can request an early resolution meeting.