OHTA.ca

I understand that this is rather last minute...my court date is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

I have received a ticket [HTA 78.1(1)] for driving with a hand-held communications device. I was stopped at a red light early on a monday morning and was changing a song - I am guilty and the ticket was properly received.

With that said, I reserve my right to fight the ticket and hold it from my insurance company for as long as possible. I have received disclosure, but it is mostly illegible (below). What are my options here?

If I am unable to reach a plea deal, I would like to plead guilty with explanation to attempt at setting up a payment schedule. Alternatively, if the officer is not there...fight in court. If he is, possibly ask for adjournment on account of illegible disclosure, and claim I did not have the ability to prepare an adequate defense. Am I on the right track? There are no fatal errors on the ticket.

Many thanks.

A few quick notes:

- I'm not sure what type of plea deal you are hoping for. There isn't really anywhere a Crown can go with this charge.

- A judge will give you time to pay if you tell them that you are struggling financially.

- If the police officer doesn't attend then the charge will most likely be dropped (sometimes they are rescheduled if the officer is ill)

- You can ask for an adjournment if the notes are illegible. They will want you to step outside and have the officer explain the notes to you so you would have to stick to your objection and hope the judge agrees.