OHTA.ca

a notice of suspension for my drivers licence was sent to my living address , but it clearly states on my ownership that all mail must be sent to my mailing address . I went to the court house to speak with the crown and showed her that i cannot receive mail at my address .It must be sent to my mailing address. She said she was still proceeding with the charge and set a trial date. I forgot to go to trial and was found guilty of driving under suspension. How can they convict me when they have the evidence that i was clearly not informed & can i appeal the sentence or at least find out what evidence they did have to convict me?

You can find out what evidence the prosecutor has by applying for disclosure.

It is not enough to simply state that they sent the notice to the address on your licence as opposed to the address on your ownership.

HTA 52 (1) Where a persons drivers licence is suspended, notice of the suspension is sufficiently given if delivered personally or,

(b) in the case of all other suspensions, sent by mail addressed to the person to whom the licence was issued at the latest current address of the person appearing on the records of the Ministry.

That would mean the address on your licence.

51 (2) Notice sent ... by mail under clause (1) (b) shall be deemed to have been given on the seventh day after the mailing unless the person to whom the notice is sent establishes that he or she did not, acting in good faith, through absence, accident, illness or other cause beyond his or her control, receive the notice.

The onus is on you in this case to establish that you did not receive it under one of the conditions above.

If you can do that you might have a defence in court.

In this case you were already found guilty and your licence is suspended for 6 month. The only way to proceed to the next step is to file an appeal. You have only 30 days to do so from the date of the conviction. If you outside of the 30 days then you have to file a motion to extend time to file an appeal.

Appeals are totally different from trial courts. You do not argue your due dilligence at the appeals but attempt to persuade the Judge that:

1. You have a defence to the charge

2. Reasons for missing your trial date

3. Attempt to persuade the Judge to order a new trial

If you get a new trial then it is open to you to lead evidence of your address situation.

You should surely consult with a paralegal before taking these steps.

Thanks for all the good advice and i meant to say is my mailing address was on my license . Anyways i really appreciate it

Same thing applies. All they have to do is send it to the last known address on their files. It's up to you to keep your address current. That's why it's an offence not to change it within 6 days of a move.