Fighting a Speeding Ticket - Court Defenses

Trials for speeding tickets are won on legal technicalities. Just going to court and explaining why you were speeding will not get your ticket canceled. Giving the court an explanation as to why you were speeding is not a defense to the charge of speeding, and the Justice of the Peace will not dismiss your case.

Speeding is called a "strict liability offence" meaning that once the police have made out the case then the defendant is liable and responsible for the speeding. There are only two reasons the court will forgive you for speeding.

1. Rushing someone to the hospital to save their life when it is impracticable to obtain an ambulance or the assistance of the police, or

2. Speeding to get away from a real imminent threat to your life, e.g. someone is trying to shoot you and your trying to get away. Speeding up to avoid traffic or a hazard is not a valid reason.

Can you defend yourself in traffic court? Maybe, but with the serious implications that can result from a speeding ticket it's not recommended, you'll get the best results by being represented in court by someone who knows the laws and the system.

Consider the following if you defend yourself:

     1. Have you ever appeared in traffic court and run a trial against a police officer with the assistance of a prosecutor?
     2. Do you know what the essential elements are that the police and prosecution have to prove for a speeding ticket?
     3. Do you know how to make an objection to a crown motion?
     4. Do you know legal terms like "filing dates", "improper on its face" and "motion to quash the certificate", and what they mean to your court case?
     5. What will a day in traffic court cost you?

Do you know what legally has to be on the Speeding Ticket?

There are certain things that have to be on the speeding ticket for it to be proper before the court. A ticket that is not proper before the court can be "quashed", or canceled by the Justice of the Peace. To do this have to know what the issues are and make the proper motion to the court asking the Justice to review the issue and make a ruling.

If you don't have the experience and knowledge of what to look for and how to approach the court then you risk not having your ticket canceled on a technicality. Thousands of tickets every year are canceled on legal technicalities, but you have to know what they are, and what to say.

The first thing that the legal experts at OTT Legal Services do is examine your offence to see if there are any issues with your copy of the ticket. Then at court we examine the courts copy to make sure its proper and that the two match. If their are any discrepancies, the ticket may get canceled.

An error that will get your ticket canceled is called a "fatal error".

Under the Ontario Provincial Offences Act some minor mistakes on speeding tickets can be corrected at court by the prosecution, but fatal errors cannot. For example, there maybe a mistake in the spelling of your name, the licence plate or year of the car is wrong. These are minor mistakes that can be corrected on the trial date by the Justice of the Peace or prosecutor and are not a fatal errors.

Fatal errors are mistakes that will get the traffic ticket cancelled because they are not fixable or amendable by the prosecution.

A mistake like the officer not putting his name on the speeding ticket is considered a "Fatal Error" and upon application by the defendant or his licensed paralegal the Justice of the Peace may "quash" or cancel the ticket.

If your Speeding Ticket has a fatal error a you have to make a motion to the court, and Justice of the Peace to review the error and make a ruling. "

Many people dont know how to represent themselves in traffic court, dont know how to make moticns to the court and subsequently represent themselves and are needlessly convicted. Have you ever hear, the man who represents himself has a fool for a lawyer?

If you want to win your speeding ticket, traffic court representation needs to be done by a qualified person such as the former police officers and qualified legal representative of OTT Legal Services. People who know the law and all the legal issues.

Although a speeding ticket may have a fatal mistake on it. It is crucial to know when to make a motion to quash, when and when not to file the ticket, and whether or not to "atourn" to the jurisdiction.

You should always seek competent representation from the former traffic officers and legal representative of OTT Legal Services. We know all the fatal errors for a speeding ticket otherwise you risk being convicted where your case could have been won.

As speeding ticket trials are won on legal technicalities, OTT Legal Services knows how to win your case.

Why Risk Losing? Call For a Free Consultation 1-888-668-8946 or Email Your Request