Many people encounter the court system for the first and often only time when they decide to fight a traffic ticket. Tickets are issued by police officers on the roadside for a vast range of offences, including many that are familiar — speeding, running a red light, careless driving, failing to wear a seatbelt — and some that you may not even have realized were offences, such as engaging in an activity likely to startle other users of the highway, making a U-turn outside an intersection, and parking on a roadway when it is practicable to park off the roadway.
In Whitehorse, traffic court takes place every Tuesday afternoon. If you decide to contest a ticket, check the appropriate box on the ticket and send it in; you will then be given a court date.
The Decision to Fight the Ticket
There are a few things you may want to consider before you send in the ticket with a not guilty plea:
• A traffic ticket is like a plea bargain. By agreeing to pay the ticket (pleading guilty to the offence) by the specified deadline, you are guaranteed to receive a certain penalty: the amount of the ticket. If you contest the ticket and lose, any penalty may be imposed up to the maximum allowed under the Motor Vehicles Act, which in certain cases can include imprisonment. This is more likely to happen if you already have a record of similar offences or if the circumstances of your offence are very unusual and concerning to the judge.
• There are some defences which always seem attractive but rarely succeed. For example, sometimes it is argued that the ticket should be thrown out because the police officer was rude and unprofessional; or because other drivers were committing the same offence and were not charged; or because the letter of the law is too strict. You can certainly present a defence of this type, but it would be exceptional to convince the judge that the ticket should be thrown out because of issues of this nature.
• It has become difficult to contest a ticket based on a technical error such as a misspelling, inaccurate birthdate, or failure to obtain your signature on the ticket. Many of these errors can be corrected in court, so if your entire defence is based on a "technicality" you may want to invest in a bit of legal advice to determine whether it is a significant error.
• Costs are usually not awarded in traffic court, even if you win.
Preparing for Trial
If you decide to go ahead and fight the ticket, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances:
• The trial may take place many months after the incident. No matter how fixed in your mind it all seems today, you will inevitably forget certain details and mix up others. The police officer will have detailed notes to refresh his or her memory, and so should you. Write down every detail you remember about the incident as soon as possible. Ask your witnesses to do the same.
• Request disclosure of the police file. Normally this will be sent to you automatically, but if you don't receive it, ensure that you ask for it well before the trial. The file will include a copy of the police officer's notes and other documents and evidence. Often there will be a videotape of the roadside stop taken on a camera mounted on the police car's dashboard, and possibly an audio recording of the officer's interaction with you. Review the disclosure carefully: this is the evidence that you will have to meet in court. You may also find things in the disclosure that will help you.
• Read the section of the Motor Vehicles Act that describes the offence you are charged with. Your ticket will mention the section number. Make sure you understand exactly what the factual elements of the offence are. Think about how the police evidence and your evidence relates to these elements. After hearing all the evidence, the judge's decision will depend largely upon whether each and every one of the these specific elements has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
• Review s. 268 of the Motor Vehicles Act and consider whether you could prove the elements that are mentioned there to establish the defence of unavoidable contravention.
• As the trial date draws closer, meet your witnesses and go over the questions you will be asking them in court. Ensure they are prepared to testify and that you are prepared to take them through their evidence in an organized way. Reluctant witnesses can be subpoenaed, but you should think carefully about whether such a witness will really be helpful to your case.
• Prepare your cross-examination of the police officer and other witnesses who will be testifying against you. The disclosure should include statements or summaries of their evidence. Think about how you can highlight inconsistencies, obtain admissions that will help you, and draw out gaps in the evidence.
• If you can spare the time, drop by the courthouse on a Tuesday afternoon and watch a few traffic trials to get a sense of the procedure and how police officers present their evidence.
The Trial
Ensure you arrive early on the day of your trial; if you cannot attend for any reason, make sure you contact the Crown in advance and discuss the situation. If you simply fail to show up, you will probably be convicted in your absence.
You do not have to dress formally for court, but it doesn't hurt to be neat and tidy and respectful, and generally to convey that you are there because you have serious issues to pursue. You cannot control the outcome, but through careful preparation and good organization, you can ensure that the judge fully understands your position and the body of evidence that you think should result in an acquittal.
The judge will usually give his or her decision immediately after the trial. If you are acquitted, that will be the end of the case. If you are convicted, your driving record may then be presented to the judge and there may be some discussion of what the penalty should be. You should be prepared to tell the judge how much time you need to pay the penalty, and if you need more than a few weeks, why.