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Hi all, I got a ticket today in Midland, Ontario travelling back home to Toronto, ON for the following:

1) Section 3 (1) of the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act - Fail to surrender valid insurance card

Details: I was overtaking a car in single lane roadway on a 70km/hr zone that ended up reducing down to a 50km/hr zone. The overtake was legal as it was within the dotted lines but by the time I overtook the car, I entered the 50km/hr zone (at 70km/hr) and was lit up by the cruiser behind me. To make matters worse, my license/registration have my old house address that I didn't update yet (I will be updating that first thing Tuesday) but I fully understand that is my fault. I provided a valid paper copy of my permit, my license and an online copy of my insurance card via my phone. So my possible tickets were:

1) Speeding over 20km/hr

2) Not matching address on License

3) Not matching address on Vehicle Permit (Is this a valid ticket?)

4) Fail to surrender valid insurance card

The cop gave me a break and only gave me a ticket for 4).

My questions are:

1) If I plead guilty to the ticket, does a guilty conviction for this offense carry any insurance implications?

2) If I decide to seek an early resolution with the prosecutor (option 2), can the officer/crown charge me the original offenses at the time of the traffic stop?

3) If I decide to seek an early resolution with the prosecutor (option 2), does this have to be done in person?

Being 1.5 hours away, I probably will not seek option 3 and take this to trial.

1) Yes , all tickets can carry POSSIBLE insurance implications, contact your provider for specific details.

2) Yes, but its not likely at all.

3) It depends on the jurisdiction, I'm not familiar with that one.

Prosecutor for Midland is in Barrie, so you would have to contact the Barrie Prosecutors office to find out if they can do Option 2 via phone. If you go to trial, that would take place in Penetanguishene.

The ticket iteself is almost impossible to beat unless the officer does not show up for court (which is very rare these days).

I doubt the prosecution will have much to offer you. I am not aware of them offering plea deals for this ticket. A lot of times if you got this ticket in conjunction with another one (like speeding) they might offer to drop this one for a guilty plea to the other one. However since you only got the one, there is not much to negotiate. Now if the prosecutor is in a good mood, they MIGHT consider dropping it completely if you provide them proof of having insurance, although they are not required to do that.

So I suppose you start with Early Resolution and see if they will agree to anything better (never hurts to ask). If at early resolution they do not offer you any kind of deal, then I would tell them you want to set a trial date and plead not guilty. Once you get your Notice of Trial, you can then request disclosure (officers notes). Once you get the officers notes, post them here so we can review. If the officers notes are good, then you can you just plead gulity and pay it anytime before the trial and be done with it without any penalties.

jsherk wrote:Prosecutor for Midland is in Barrie, so you would have to contact the Barrie Prosecutors office to find out if they can do Option 2 via phone. If you go to trial, that would take place in Penetanguishene.

The ticket iteself is almost impossible to beat unless the officer does not show up for court (which is very rare these days).

I doubt the prosecution will have much to offer you. I am not aware of them offering plea deals for this ticket. A lot of times if you got this ticket in conjunction with another one (like speeding) they might offer to drop this one for a guilty plea to the other one. However since you only got the one, there is not much to negotiate. Now if the prosecutor is in a good mood, they MIGHT consider dropping it completely if you provide them proof of having insurance, although they are not required to do that.

So I suppose you start with Early Resolution and see if they will agree to anything better (never hurts to ask). If at early resolution they do not offer you any kind of deal, then I would tell them you want to set a trial date and plead not guilty. Once you get your Notice of Trial, you can then request disclosure (officers notes). Once you get the officers notes, post them here so we can review. If the officers notes are good, then you can you just plead gulity and pay it anytime before the trial and be done with it without any penalties.

Can you change from option 2 then to option 3? I thought you only get 1 chance to choose an option though.

If so, I will do that.

Yes you can change. Early resolution is just a first step towards trial. If you do an early resolution meeting and do not like what is offered, then you can say to prosecutor "I would like to set a trial date and get disclosure" and they will do that.

jsherk wrote:Yes you can change. Early resolution is just a first step towards trial. If you do an early resolution meeting and do not like what is offered, then you can say to prosecutor "I would like to set a trial date and get disclosure" and they will do that.

Ok thank you jsherk.

Another question - it says for Option 2 that I can speak with the justice but it has to be done in person on a Tuesday between 9am-10:30am? Do I just call ahead and attempt to speak with the prosecutor anyway? The office is at Wasaga Beach and I won't be able to attend in person

You can call and try to speak to prosecutor. If they will not speak to you, then your best bet is just to plead not guilty and request a trial, because at the trial date you will be able to speak to prosecutor before the trial starts anyways.