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Post by Max on Dec 18, 2007 19:50:13 GMT -3
Jason, Keep receipts of all the expenses you incur. You will be seeking costs and will ask for costs on the day you are in court.
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Post by Jason on Dec 18, 2007 23:06:39 GMT -3
Hey Marc
I had the day off so I spent my time watching cases go through the local provincial offences court. Most were parking ticket cases - but most people plead guilty which was disappointing. At one point, the judge said something to the effect of "So someone else parked the car?... not that it matters."
I'd like to try simply saying I wasn't the driver.. but would it work? We have red-light cameras in Waterloo now, so wouldn't the word spread fast that the tickets could be beaten simply by having another person confess to driving the car?
It does seem like an elegant defense, however. In a way I wish I had a bunch of tickets so that I could try out a few things. I don't think my friend will be going anywhere near a courtroom though, she's not the adventurous sort.
I'm curious about the burden. The first case I saw today was for a failure to yeild from a private driveway. The defense attorney or paralegal mentioned that the burden was proof beyond reasonable doubt. I had thought with these smaller cases, that it was simply a 'more likely than not' type of burden. If it's proof beyond a reasonable doubt, then my defense could simply be asking the bylaw officer "What reason do you have for thinking I was operator of my car that day?"
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Post by Max on Dec 18, 2007 23:20:56 GMT -3
The burden is on them, regardless of what burden it is.
Read section 15 CLOSELY.
They can only charge PERSONS WHO COMMITTED the OFFENCE.
They cannot charge the owner of the car, in my view, unless the owner was the PERSON driving the car and responsible for committing the offence.
If your friend won't go to court for you, ask her to signa Affidavit swearing that she was driving. Present it in court. They cannot charge her now because it's too late, in my view. Even if they do charge her, assure her you're pay the ticket if she's charged. You'll be no worse off then you are now. She doesn't lose demerit points, it's simply a fine, which you'll agree to pay.
Without having proof that you were not driving I think you'll be found guilty.
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Post by Max on Dec 19, 2007 1:04:30 GMT -3
Jason, if you're friend won't come to court on her own, you can summons her and she has to appear. However if she shows up and says she wasn't driving you're still screwed and will probably have one less friend.
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Post by Jason on Dec 21, 2007 9:45:01 GMT -3
I think I will try that defense. Whether I win or not isn't that important - I was going to be out about $30 either way which isn't a big deal. It's more than worth the amount I've been forced to learn. As long as it costs them more than $30, I'll feel that I won. So I'll be leaving my friend out of it.
I assume if I make a clear argument the judge will be forced to address it, one way or another, even if he doesn't believe that I wasn't driving. If It doesn't work, we'll still know if it could have worked.
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