Appealing Traffic Tickets In Ontario
If you’ve found yourself with a traffic ticket conviction in Ontario, understanding how to appeal is crucial. The process varies based on whether the ticket involves a fine or is a summons to court.
1. Reopening Tickets with Fines
If you have a traffic ticket with a fine and the court or you made a mistake, consider reopening the ticket. OTD Legal can assist in this relatively straightforward and cost-effective process. Reopening allows for corrections or reductions that can alleviate the impact on your record.
2. Appeals for Summons
When dealing with a summons, a command to appear in court without a fine, the process involves a formal appeal. This is a more intricate procedure, requiring a deep understanding of the legal system. OTD Legal has a track record of success in managing these appeals, ensuring the right court and procedures are followed.
3. Understanding the Appeal Process
Appeals in Ontario focus on how the original conviction occurred, rather than guilt or innocence in a traditional sense. Judges scrutinize the circumstances, examining factors like why the ticket was ignored or who made mistakes. The decision to allow an appeal hinges on whether denying it would compromise the defendant’s rights.
4. The Defense in an Appeal
Once the appeal is granted, the defence unfolds. This stage allows the defendant to present their side of the story and possibly unveil a meritorious defence that wasn’t considered earlier.
In conclusion, navigating the appeals process for traffic tickets in Ontario requires a tailored approach based on the nature of the ticket. Whether reopening a ticket with fines or pursuing a formal appeal for a summons, OTD Legal provides comprehensive assistance, leveraging its expertise to secure the best possible outcomes for clients.
Video Transcription:
A question I’m going to answer for you today is how to appeal a traffic ticket in Ontario. Before I get into the nitty gritty of answering that particular question for you, I think we have to think about this in another way, which is how did you get convicted of this particular ticket in the first place?
So, We know there’s two ways of, of getting a ticket. One could be a ticket where there’s a fine on it, and the other could be a summons to court. What could have happened, for whatever reason, you’ve either misplaced the ticket, you forgot, or you ignored, you didn’t show up, and you’ve been convicted by the court without you even being there.
The other particular way would be you’ve gone to court, you’ve done your trial, and the judge has found you guilty. Now, depending on how we get to the position that we’re in, which is how to appeal a traffic ticket in Ontario, we now move to the, how are we gonna deal with this? How do we file an appeal in Ontario?
Well, if there’s a traffic ticket, the one with a fine on it, and for whatever reason the court has made a mistake or we have made a mistake, the first step in appealing that traffic ticket is to consider whether or not the ticket can be reopened, if it can be reopened. It’s a relatively simple and cost effective process that OTD Legal can help you with in order to get that ticket back on the rails, get it off of your record and get it in a position where we can either get rid of that ticket or have that ticket reduced to something that does not hurt you. That’s step one. When the ticket is a summons, a summons is simply command that you be in court. There’ll be no fine on it, and in those types of situations we most certainly have to do an appeal.
An appeal is a relatively complicated process. We can do it, it does take some time. We have been quite successful at dealing with that type of thing, but it does require a heightened knowledge of how the system works. How to file a motion, how to get it before the court, how to get it to the right court in order to get you the success that you need.
The oddity about appealing a ticket in Ontario is what a judge is looking at, is not what we traditionally think of as guilt and innocence. They are looking more at how did you end up getting convicted? Why was it ignored? Who made the mistake? And if we don’t allow this appeal to go through, does it affect the rights of the person who was originally charged?
The defense itself on an appeal comes after the appeal is taking place. So once a judge has decided that yes, the merits of this case ought to be before the court, the defendant ought to have his say about what happened, because there may be merit to that defense that is decided at some other time.
