Stupid speeding ticket, 48 km/h over

[DEA]

Got the plates' ticket dismissed! First prosecutor gave me the disclosure as expected and after some questions offered no fine but ticket stays, which i of course refused and after another 10 min he said that he talked to the cop (not sure if he actually did b/c I didn't recognize any of the cops in the room) and they decided to dismiss the ticket like it never happened and said that i can stick around or free to go. I went off right away, but now after recollecting your advices (about prosecutors tend to lie to your face) I'm concerned I don't have any proof of the ticket dismissal other than prosecutor's words ...

 

[nikiter]

So they would drop 48 over just like that? huh?

 

[SLaP]

From my limited experience it seems odd, the prosecutor usually calls you up in court and when you are up they ask the JP to dismiss the charge, at which point the JP will tell you you are free to go.
Chances are the prosecutor didn't lie to you but to be on the safe side, I would follow up, by calling the court offices and see whether they did actually have the case dismissed.
If I were you, I would have stuck around to watch the other cases (after travelling all that distance). It could've given you some knowledge/experience for when you have to deal with the 48 over case.

 

[Sabex]

So they would drop 48 over just like that? huh?

Got the plates' ticket dismissed! First prosecutor gave me the disclosure as expected and after some questions offered no fine but ticket stays, which i of course refused and after another 10 min he said that he talked to the cop (not sure if he actually did b/c I didn't recognize any of the cops in the room) and they decided to dismiss the ticket like it never happened and said that i can stick around or free to go. I went off right away, but now after recollecting your advices (about prosecutors tend to lie to your face) I'm concerned I don't have any proof of the ticket dismissal other than prosecutor's words ...

hmm

 

[DEA]

From my limited experience it seems odd, the prosecutor usually calls you up in court and when you are up they ask the JP to dismiss the charge, at which point the JP will tell you you are free to go.
Chances are the prosecutor didn't lie to you but to be on the safe side, I would follow up, by calling the court offices and see whether they did actually have the case dismissed.
If I were you, I would have stuck around to watch the other cases (after travelling all that distance). It could've given you some knowledge/experience for when you have to deal with the 48 over case.

From my personal experience in Belarus (I'm originally from) - if I'm told by law enforcement person that I'm free to go I just go

I'll follow up with them tomorrow.

Next question about my 2nd ticket - should I request disclosure right away or wait for the notice of trial to arrive in the mail (or better to again wait till the very last moment)?

 

[toysareforboys]

Next question about my 2nd ticket - should I request disclosure right away or wait for the notice of trial to arrive in the mail (or better to again wait till the very last moment)?

Wait until you get your trial date, and send in the disclosure request approx 60 days prior to your court date. Do NOT give them your e-mail or phone number.

-Jamie M.

 

[SLaP]

From my personal experience in Belarus (I'm originally from) - if I'm told by law enforcement person that I'm free to go I just go

Understandable

Next question about my 2nd ticket - should I request disclosure right away or wait for the notice of trial to arrive in the mail (or better to again wait till the very last moment)?

I would request it, 8 weeks prior to the trial. Have the disclosure request filled out ready to go and mark it on your calendar to send it.

 

[toysareforboys]

Got the plates' ticket dismissed!

Nice! Probably the cop wasn't there, he just didn't want to say it!

Congrats, hopefully the 48 over goes equally as smooth

-Jamie M.

 

[DEA]

Thanks for all the info, guys. Much appreciated!

Congrats, hopefully the 48 over goes equally as smooth

I have some doubts about it ))

still not sure if I need a paralegal - I don't want to waste money on it b/c as far as I understand my chances to get it dismissed with or without paralegal are not very high ... or would it be wise to spend some $$$ (any idea how much?) to get some paralegal work magic?

 

[toysareforboys]

still not sure if I need a paralegal - I don't want to waste money on it b/c as far as I understand my chances to get it dismissed with or without paralegal are not very high ... or would it be wise to spend some $$$ (any idea how much?) to get some paralegal work magic?

Because your ticket was not reduced, I would say it's best if YOU fight it because if you get convicted of 48 over no biggie.

A paralegal will usually just plea it down, but after you've paid them, plus the reduced fine, did you save any money? Nope.

Wait till you get your disclosure. If it's rock solid and we can't poke any holes or fabricate any evidence then you could go with a paralegal at that time

-Jamie M.

 

[Macs]

Redline will get the charge gone or fight it till they can't anymore, but their pricing reflects that.

 

[nikiter]

hmm

Oops. Brain fart.

 

[DEA]

My trial date is approaching (19 Dec) and I still don't have my disclosure (request sent by fax around 50 days before the trial date). I guess I need to follow the same scheme: they will try to give me disclosure at the trial and I will request to adjourn of the trial (making sure the cop showed up and they provide me with translator), correct?

 

[SLaP]

Pretty much...

1. Do not except disclosure at the trial

2.

If the cop doesn't show up, ask the Justice of the Peace (Your worship) that the charges be dismissed or “stayed”. If the cop does not show you will generally not have to ask, as the prosecutor will do this.

If the cop does show, you can ask that the charges be dismissed or “stayed” as you have been deprived the right to a full answer and defence to the charge(s) laid and to adjourn the trial to a later date, will force you to take more time off of work, invest additional resources to the case at hand. The Prosecutor may ask that the trial be adjourned to a later date in order to give his/her office the opportunity to have your request for disclosure acted on and to have the Officer’s notes sent to you. You should remind the Court that if the matter is put over to a later date, it will mean you will have to take more time (in addition to the time you have already taken to come to Court at a future date).

 

[DEA]

1 last question: what if cop and translator show up and prosecutor offers me a bargain - should i accept it?

 

[SLaP]

Did you get the disclosure? If you did not receive, follow steps 1 and 2 above.

 

[DEA]

Everybody showed up for the trial and I was told they didn't send me the disclosure b/c an error in my disclosure request - I put 11/19/2012 as my next court date (November instead of December). Adjourned the trial to March.

Attached the disclosure I received from them. Looking forward to your comments. Thanks

 

[SLaP]

Did the prosecutor give you the disclosure prior to you going in front of the JP (Justice of the Peace)? I would not have accepted it.

If all the pertinent information (Infraction # and date, Officers badge and name, your address, etc) was correct on the disclosure request was correct, I would have waited until in front of the JP and argued that regardless of the incorrect date of the court case, the disclosure could have been sent in a timely manner. Considering the court date you incorrectly put on the disclosure request was prior to the actual court date, they should have sent it sooner.

If the date was incorrect on a traffic ticket, this would be considered a non-fatal error and would not get the ticket thrown out in court. I don't see why it should get the officer off of providing the disclosure prior to the court date.

Did you in fact put the wrong date on the disclosure request?
Does the disclosure which you have now received contain all the information which was requested in your disclosure request? What exactly did you request in your disclosure request?

 

[DEA]

Well, actually there were 2 problems with my disclosure request: I put wrong next court date and also I sent the request to the fax # they said was not correct and they didn't receive any requests from me (there was no fax # in NOTICE OF TRIAL and I just looked it up using court name and address).

I did not have a choice to accept the disclosure or not (they gave it to me right before the hearing and I told it to JP and he said that I made a reasonable attempt to get the disclosure and that's why he grants the adjournment).

You can see the disclosure request I sent attached (found the template somewhere online). And the disclosure I got from them is as i attached in previous post + copy of the front part of the original ticket...

Did the prosecutor give you the disclosure prior to you going in front of the JP (Justice of the Peace)? I would not have accepted it.

If all the pertinent information (Infraction # and date, Officers badge and name, your address, etc) was correct on the disclosure request was correct, I would have waited until in front of the JP and argued that regardless of the incorrect date of the court case, the disclosure could have been sent in a timely manner. Considering the court date you incorrectly put on the disclosure request was prior to the actual court date, they should have sent it sooner.

If the date was incorrect on a traffic ticket, this would be considered a non-fatal error and would not get the ticket thrown out in court. I don't see why it should get the officer off of providing the disclosure prior to the court date.

Did you in fact put the wrong date on the disclosure request?
Does the disclosure which you have now received contain all the information which was requested in your disclosure request? What exactly did you request in your disclosure request?

 

[SLaP]

Well, actually there were 2 problems with my disclosure request: I put wrong next court date and also I sent the request to the fax # they said was not correct and they didn't receive any requests from me (there was no fax # in NOTICE OF TRIAL and I just looked it up using court name and address).

<AHEM> I will refer you to post #30 of this thread...

I would call the office to confirm reception of the fax. Ask the full name of the person you speak to who confirms the disclosure request fax was received.
That would cover all bases!

Just curious, what was the actual fax number you sent your disclosure request to?

I did not have a choice to accept the disclosure or not (they gave it to me right before the hearing and I told it to JP and he said that I made a reasonable attempt to get the disclosure and that's why he grants the adjournment).

Given the fact that you (allegedly) sent the request to the wrong number, the adjournment seems fitting. The JP could have possibly made you proceed given that it was your responsibility to ensure the request was received.

I will let the GTAM armchair lawyers and paralegals analyze your disclosure request and the officer's disclosure document.