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Hi,
My trial date is in a couple days for a speeding ticket (york region) and i am nervous it is my first ticket ever as well as first trial
I did notice my ticket was filed beyond 7 days, 10 days after the day i got the ticket to be exact, which is stamped on the ticket. is this enough to have it dismissed?
"Filing of certificate of offence
4. A certificate of offence shall be filed in the office of the court as soon as is practicable, but no later than seven days after service of the offence notice or summons. 2009, c. 33, Sched. 4, s. 1 (4)."
I don't know if that's an automatic dismissal though.
The courts should have never filed it...I have never even heard of a late file getting a trial date set...are you sure that is the file date?
The filing date will be stamped on the original Certificate of Offence that the officer filed with the court, not on your ticket.
When you show up for trial, you can go up to the clerk before the trial starts and ask them to show you the filing the date on the original.
If it is indeed 10 days after the ticket was issued, then you can ask the clerk why it got filed, and then you can tell the prosecutor as well before the trial starts. If the prosecutor wants to still have a trial, then when the trial starts you need to tell the Justice of the Peace right away that the Certificate of Offence was filed 10 days after the ticket was issued and Section 4 of the Provincial Offences Act says "A certificate of offence shall be filed in the office of the court as soon as is practicable, but no later than seven days after service of the offence notice or summons." and therefore the charge should be dropped.
Ok.. Im actually not too sure.. the date i got my ticket was on Oct. 26 and then on my ticket theres a stamp that says "ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE FILED NOV. 5, 2015 #3"? is that the filing date?
I'd follow jsherk's advice and check with the clerk
You have 15 days to file YOUR copy of the ticket (called the Notice of Offence), otherwise you will just be automatically found guilty.
The officer has 7 days to file their original copy of the ticket (called the Certificate of Offence).
So what do you have with a date stamp on it? Your ticket (notice of offence) or the officers original (certificate of offence)? Or does it say SUMMONS at the top of your ticket in which case none of this applies.
Ah, good catch jsherk. I'll bet that's it.