Posted on: 07-12-11 17:05:06
In the month of February I was charged with Left turn violation contrary to the Highway Traffic Act Section 141(5).
This happened while waiting little ahead of white line to take left turn yielding for the upcoming traffic and when light turned red, I took left. A vehicle from opposite direction which was probably trying to bit amber came across resulting in minor accident. Police took the statement of both the drivers and handed me the ticket.
Decided to fight the ticket. Took following steps:
1) Went to the courthouse, selected option 3 on the ticket to request trial.
2) Visited few of paralegal agencies and they offered to fight the ticket at least to reduce/completely take away points but fine of CAD 110 may have to pay..of course no guarantees were offered.
3) In April received notice of trial.
4) Requested Disclosure from the prosecutor. I guess most of the courts give the prosecutor's office number in their automated recording of the phone number on the notice.
5) Studied the statement given by other driver and cop's notes. Other driver mentioned he crossed on green and light; light turned amber when my vehicle hit his. He also stated that a vehicle in front of him took a right turn before he crossed light.
6) Was still debating to hire paralegal to assist with the case as I find the court and overall environment very intimidating and overwhelming(A dozen cops at trial, prosecutors, etc). Moreover for prosecutors this is a routine work and always thought they can easily convict you.
7) Visited one more agency and I found the guy genuine...he said his firm charges flat rate $500 and suggested is it really worth to invest that money to fight minor violation with this much fine only. Gave us time to think but did not seem to one of those money grabbers. I can share that info if anyone is interested PM me. He discussed the case and mentioned that your charges could get withdrawn if a) cop did not show up b) the other driver did not show up 3) technical mistakes on ticket. Gave couple of pointers and took a rehearsal of trial as well at no charge.
8) Decided to go to court on my own in the hope that at least one of above would happen.
9) Attended a session prior to get familiar with court proceedings. In that session all the defendants pled guilty...even the ones represented by paralegals
10) Met the prosecutor on the trial date. He offered 1 point reduction as guilty plea bargain. I was hoping he would offer no points but just the fine and that did not happen.
11) There were at least 6-8 paralegals from various agencies representing other clients. They had very quick and friendly chat with prosecutor and everyone took the bench.
12) 10 minutes before proceedings the cop on case showed up.
13) 5 minutes before proceedings other driver showed up
14) 3 minutes before proceedings cop and driver had a quick chat outside courtroom.
15) Judge arrived... around 20-25 cases were scheduled...I am all tensed up and nervous.
16) Initially all the paralegal cases were handled, all of them took plea bargains and plead guilty on reduced charges. More tensed up as Pros were taking guilty pleas..even regretted not hiring one of them..at least would have saved points because it appeared that there were standard bargains.
17) Judge appeared to be studying each and every case carefully and suggesting corrections, in fact I felt he was encouraging some of the defendants to raise concerns, fight little more but all of them took guilty plea..more tension...
18) finally last 3-4 cases were pending obviously including mine..prosecutor asked for 15 mins break.
19) Prosecutor talked to other defendants...could not hear the discussion. Called this other driver..talked to him. Called the cop on my case and discussed something. Did not say a word to me not even looked at me. Thought that so much hassle to save some bucks with paralegals..now I am sure to get convicted.
20) Right before judge arrived, he let both, cop and the driver let go and looked at me and said there was nothing significant in the case that showed I was in fact taking the turn...(something like that) and he is withdrawing the charges....
21) I was so tensed...although I understood what he said I was having difficulty to digest.
22) Judge arrived, prosecutor called my name to come in front ...read the details and let judge know that the charges were withdrawn..
23) That is it..no 3 points, no fine, no other charges.
Here is what I concluded/understood from the whole experience.
a) Fight a ticket even if you feel you are guilty as charged
b) By immediately pleading guilty you are losing i) A chance to completely get the charges gone ii) More definitive chance to work with prosecutor to reduce charges. iii) Savings on insurance premium that will definitely go up.
Worst that could happen is to pay the ticket in full with $15-$20 towards other charges.
c) Hiring paralegals may help as i) they can find some technical flaws e.g. in my case they could have asked cop if he ran a test on traffic light to see if they were cycling properly ii) They may already have predefined plea bargain arrangements with prosecutor as these are routine matters iii) You don't have to get as much tensed/overwhelmed
d) But again in all the cases paralegals will take the guilty plea and not fight the ticket. So the charge will be there on your driving record even if it is a reduced charge.
e) Found judges to be more considerate towards defendant especially when you are on your own (without assistance from professional agency).
Bingo - you hit it !!
I think you did the right thing by not hiring the para legal ... nobody can fight the case better than you can .
Prosecutors know that the JoP would not convict anyone till 100% proven . And that 100% comes only with un refutable evidence like a camera or a speed gun which was not there in you case .
I had a similar experience also posted earlier on the board . Thanks for sharing the info ...
What happened to the insurance in case of the collision ?
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Fido.
Quote:
Originally posted by Fido
What happened to the insurance in case of the collision ?
They had already put me at 100% at fault....that is another battle..I will be talking to them but I dont think I will have a better luck there.
Can anybody tell me if prosecutor offers me to just pay fine and agree to drop the charges will offense still show up in my driving record?
Quote:
Originally posted by kumar_v
Can anybody tell me if prosecutor offers me to just pay fine and agree to drop the charges will offense still show up in my driving record?
Yes, at least for 3 years and your insurance premium will sure go up accordingly.
Quote:
Originally posted by coolvip
Quote:
Originally posted by kumar_v
Can anybody tell me if prosecutor offers me to just pay fine and agree to drop the charges will offense still show up in my driving record?
Yes, at least for 3 years and your insurance premium will sure go up accordingly.
Then what is the meaning of dropping the charges if it still show up in the driving record?
Quote:
Originally posted by kumar_v
Can anybody tell me if prosecutor offers me to just pay fine and agree to drop the charges will offense still show up in my driving record?
If he is dropping the charges, what is the fine for? I assume you meant that he reduces the charge, drops the demerit points and the fine amount - but the conviction still stays and you are guilty. The conviction stays on your driving record for 3 years.
Generally for Insurance, 1 conviction may not increase your insurance rate - but you are forced to stick to same company for 3 years as all other insu companies rates will be higher due to that conviction.
Hope this helps.
Congrats Coolvip - though I don't understand why they dropped the charges even with the cop and other driver present. The process is definitely intimidating for first timers.
Hiren
