Received speeding ticket, paralegal recommendations? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Received speeding ticket, paralegal recommendations?

Roadkill

Roadkill

Member
Hey guys, I received a speeding ticket in Toronto this morning for 20 over (70 in a 50). In the past I've fought it myself and gotten destroyed (no disclosure given despite multiple requests and fax receipts, forced to view it for 15 mins in the hallway prior to the trial).

Needless to say, I'm not keen on representing myself. My buddy told me to check on here as people have had success with representation in the past. Most of the search results I've found point to redline legal, however they don't seem to be around anymore (they seem to have split into 2 separate companies, but I haven't found any reviews since the split), which leads to my question - any recent recommendations?

I really appreciate the help folks!
 
I dealt with Forch when he was a redline. Had a charge changed to something innocuous, but it costs.
 
I used XCopper and it was a complete waste of money. For something not crazy serious, I would represent myself next time.
 
Based on what I've read/heard/experienced, most of these paralegal services don't end up accomplishing much aside from what you could accomplish yourself in early resolution talking to the prosecutor. The only thing it seems to me that a paralegal is worth money for is if you think you can legitimately get the charge tossed out for something, but if you pretty much know that you're hosed and the charge is going to stick...the paralegal is just going to negotiate it down for you at best, and since 20 over is a minor (changing it to 10 won't make much/any difference so far as your licence or insurance AFAIK) you'd probably have just as much luck getting the fine reduced as a paralegal would, and in the end it'll probably cost you more after the paralegal fees.
 
PrivatePilot said:
the paralegal is just going to negotiate it down for you at best, and since 20 over is a minor (changing it to 10 won't make much/any difference so far as your licence or insurance AFAIK)
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This was my exact experience and it cost me $300 to find out.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Based on what I've read/heard/experienced, most of these paralegal services don't end up accomplishing much aside from what you could accomplish yourself in early resolution talking to the prosecutor. The only thing it seems to me that a paralegal is worth money for is if you think you can legitimately get the charge tossed out for something, but if you pretty much know that you're hosed and the charge is going to stick...the paralegal is just going to negotiate it down for you at best, and since 20 over is a minor (changing it to 10 won't make much/any difference so far as your licence or insurance AFAIK) you'd probably have just as much luck getting the fine reduced as a paralegal would, and in the end it'll probably cost you more after the paralegal fees.
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I've read that a GOOD paralegal has better chances of getting your ticket tossed. They're better at cross-examining an officer and can cast doubt on their testimony. Its just a matter of finding the right one lol
 
Roadkill said:
I've read that a GOOD paralegal has better chances of getting your ticket tossed.
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Only if there's a legitimate reason to have it tossed, which is why I mentioned you'd best be sure you have a leg to stand on before investing the money in a paralegal to begin with.

IE, if you were indeed doing 20 over, you know you were caught dead to right, there's no fatal errors on the ticket and you've requested and seen the disclosure basically confirming you are screwed (ie, the officer had all his ducks in a row and there's no way out), a paralegal is pretty much a waste of several hundred dollars for such a small speeding ticket. This is why almost all paralegal services will promise you nothing.

Now, if there's some question about the legitimacy of the ticket (you feel you can prove the ticket was somehow unjust) it may be worth it, but those sorts of things are hard to prove for speeding, especially when it's your word against an officer, who providing completed his notes properly and shows calibration of his equipment and all related details, will carry more weight than you.
 
i've got a good one if it's in the toronto east location. Aside from that, id like to know one from the toronto downtown location
 
Forch did a great job for me on one occasion. Pacing evidence for 30 over on the 407, presented by an OPP cop reputed to be a very good scripter. $500 well-spent
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Forch did a great job for me on one occasion. Pacing evidence for 30 over on the 407, presented by an OPP cop reputed to be a very good scripter. $500 well-spent
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On one occasion as in he didnt do so well another time? Or it was the only time you used him? If you done mind me asking, how long ago did you use him?
 
We don't know much about the OP as his 5 posts relate to this ticket. He has had problems before and they didn't go well. Possibly a conviction on this one could mean points or insurance renewal problems. Some insurers limit the number of tickets on record. Is this an all or nothing case?

Was the ticket a radar zap which IMO is hard to get tossed short of a no show?

In most cases I hear of the cop drops a 20 over to a 15. Was this a 25 over that got dropped to 20 and could go back up again in court?

It's hard to give advice if you don't know the whole situation.
 
nobbie48 said:
We don't know much about the OP as his 5 posts relate to this ticket. He has had problems before and they didn't go well. Possibly a conviction on this one could mean points or insurance renewal problems. Some insurers limit the number of tickets on record. Is this an all or nothing case?

Was the ticket a radar zap which IMO is hard to get tossed short of a no show?

In most cases I hear of the cop drops a 20 over to a 15. Was this a 25 over that got dropped to 20 and could go back up again in court?

It's hard to give advice if you don't know the whole situation.
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yeah this is pretty much an all or nothing deal as I've had prior tickets that lead to convictions.

I'm not sure if it was radar as the cop didn't specify and I didn't ask questions because I didn't want to prolong the interaction, but I'm guessing it was.

It actually was 20 over - the cop didn't drop it down and I didn't ask for a break, just took it and kept going.
 
A lot of these paralegal companies are useless.
X-Copper for example has a guarantee that we win or it's free.
What they don't tell you is that if they get the charge reduced, that counts as a "win".
The question is, were you in fact doing 70 in a 50 zone?
If you were go to an early resolution and tell your story to the prosecutor.
They will most likely knock it down.
 
statsman said:
go to an early resolution and tell your story to the prosecutor.
They will most likely knock it down.
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That really depends on the crown you're up against

I went to an early resolution once; was told my two priors, 6 and 10 years earlier respectively, showed I was a habitual speeder.... NEXT! lmao.
 
If the OP has, (as he has stated prior convictions), then a crown is not likely to offer up any sort of incentive seeing that the copper on the road didn't lower the speed, it is likely he also looked at the OP's record and felt a "break" wasn't deserved so stuck to the original of 20 over.
 
Gone are the days where you may out live your misdeeds
 
Neil_V said:
That really depends on the crown you're up against

I went to an early resolution once; was told my two priors, 6 and 10 years earlier respectively, showed I was a habitual speeder.... NEXT! lmao.
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What was the end result there? They didn't drop it to something smaller?
 
Roadkill said:
yeah this is pretty much an all or nothing deal as I've had prior tickets that lead to convictions.

I'm not sure if it was radar as the cop didn't specify and I didn't ask questions because I didn't want to prolong the interaction, but I'm guessing it was.

It actually was 20 over - the cop didn't drop it down and I didn't ask for a break, just took it and kept going.
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You can't unscramble an egg. Does a conviction mean a suspension or just a bunch more demerit points?

If you delay this conviction do any other convictions drop off the chart and make the scene more tolerable? Not sure if it works that way.
 
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