OHTA.ca

When asking for disclosure, is it possible to ask for the officer's schedule for the day in question? And if so, what specifically would you ask for in the disclosure document?

Thanks for any help

You're not likely to get a officers schedule because they don't have one. It's not as if they take appointments when they are on the road. They answer calls as needed.

If you're asking if you can get a copy of their notes for the day, the answer is no. Only notes made in relation to the incident will be disclosed.

I was hoping I would be able to get a log of how long they were at a specific incident (specifically mine). I assumed they have to account for the whereabouts throughout the day (could be completely wrong). I wasn't given more then 2 minutes to explain my side of what happened before the officer gave me the ticket and left the scene (probably not much more then 10 minutes on scene). Not to say that would be much of a defense, but I know that the officer's notes will not match my story and would like to able to prove that they don't match since I wasn't given adequate time to explain the situation.

The roadside isn't the time or place to have any discussion about the offence in question. The officer isn't likely to make any notes about "your story" his notes are his own evidence. I don't generally note any excuses or stories in my book or on the ticket because I can't use them as evidence if it goes to court.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that this was in a parking lot off the roadway and the officer didn't witness the event (he was called in after the collision occurred). I am still convinced he had the wrong sequence of events but wouldn't allow me to actually finish explaining the events which took place. I would assume the only thing the offense was decided on was the testimony of myself and the other party so his notes on what was said by both parties would be the only thing the Justice would rely on. Obviously I don't want to seem like I am trying to change my story so I am just trying to have some sort of "Evidence" that the officer might have not given me the time to explain my side of the events.

As has been stated, a roadside trial or parking lot trial isn't how you deal with issues. This is done in court. Disclosure will show the evidence that will be presented at trial. Where he was will not have a factor on the fact a charge was laid as I have investigated hundreds of collisions and only witnessed two. That doesn't stop charges from being laid.

Who said anything about a roadside or parking lot trial? A collision occurred which the officer didn't witness and I wasn't given a chance to give my side of the events which occurred and was found at fault. I am now forced to go to court (at a loss of a days pay and my time) to give my side of the events for the FIRST time. If I had been able to at least tell my side of the story at the scene, and I was still told I was at fault, I would have probably paid the ticket and put this behind me and saved both me (and the court) a waste of time. Listening to one side of a story in a collision, and just handing out a ticket hardly seems fair or just to me.

I thought it would be helpful to show that the officer was on site for an extremely short period of time. The last time I was hit by a car, the officer was on scene for almost an hour taking statements/notes from everyone involved (myself in one car, and 4 people in the other). In this case, there was myself in one car and 3 people in the other and the officer was in and out in record time not even taking statements for all people in the other vehicle. It probably isn't a huge deal, but I was trying to prepare as good a defense as I can ahead of time and going over every detail and trying to determine what might or might not help me.

I realize on a site like this, it's easy to just assume everyone is just trying to "get out of" a ticket but I don't think expecting to be able to tell your side of a story before being sent to court and wasting your time is too much to ask.

Thanks for the comments, I will look into this in another manner. Cheers

Clients,

I've investigated numerous traffic accidents. 95% of the time, as soon as I arrive and look at the position of the vehicles, the location of the damage, the debris on the roadway, skidmarks, and a VERY brief account of what happen (even a 10 second explanation), I can determine exactly what happened and who needs to be charged.

As stated before, the officer has zero obligation to listen to your story at the side of the road (or in the parking lot in your case), so what you're arguing is inconsequential. The fact that you're arguing with us on the board in the manner you are lends evidence that you're a bit of a "roadside trial" kind of person. But what we are trying to tell you is that whatever you told the officer doesn't matter, and maybe your feelings are hurt, but it's too late and a trial is to take place. At that time the facts can be brought to light as you see fit.