OHTA.ca

Hi,

I was recently charged with a speeding ticket and driving with a suspended license. I was given the tickets on Feb 3rd and have since hired a paralegal. The paralegal asked when my court/summons date was. I cannot seem to find my tickets so I called the court and gave them my driver's license to confirm my court date. They said that they have not received anything yet. It has been 18 days since I was given the ticket. Does this mean that the there is no case since it has been over 7 days?

Thanks

Drive while suspended is a Part 3 offence, so the 7 day deadline you are likely referring to is the one that applies to Part 1 offences. In Part 3 offences, the Crown has 6 months from the date of the offence to commence proceedings against you. If you were given a summons at the road side telling you when to attend court, the officer STILL has to get the 'information' sworn before a judge or justice of the peace for the proceedings to commence. The judge/JP is always able to refuse the case for the information and the case never even proceeds (though that is very rare). Other times, they will charge a person 'after the fact' whereby the information is sworn and THEN it is served on the defendant at a later date. Check your paper work to see how they are proceeding against you. Most likely you will see its via Part 3 of the Act, which is a VERY different game altogether. Your paralegal should have been able to decipher this for you---if they can't, run!

By the way, don't forget to understand the rules for POA offences set out as a regulation under the Courts of Justice Act. See Reg. 200 for more insight on what forms the officers must use.

The only paper work I was given was the two Summons to Defendant yellow tickets. I was able to find the ticket with the date on it. However, the fact that the court has not received anything makes me think that the officer did not speak to a judge or JP meaning that there is no case? The yellow ticket says under Section 22 of the provincial offences act.

After talking to my paralegal it is a Summons not a ticket.

Remember, the 7 day rule does not apply to Part 3 offences. You were given a s.22 summons which confirms they are proceeding via Part 3. The fact its not in the court system yet does not mean there is no case; it just means the information has either not been sworn yet or it hasn't been entered in to the system yet. You MUST attend court on the day you were summoned to appear. They can swear the information on that very day so don't be under any artificial deadline illusions using Part 1 interpretations.

Thanks! I talked to my paralegal and he has told me he will attend this first appearance date.