What is the benefit of hiring an agent for a speeding ticket?

[tiborgh]

I was reading on Canlii about recent cases involving speeding infractions and I couldn't help but notice that in all cases that I've read so far the defendants were represented by at least an agent and in all cases they lost. There were lots of good questions being asked and gotcha moments but judge would not drop the charges. And if the ticket was previously reduced, the prosecutor asked for the ticket to be ammended up to the original speed and these requests were always granted based on previous case law - York (Regional Municipality) v. Winlow, 2009 ONCA 643 (CanLII).


Therefore, what is e benefit of hiring an agent t fight a speeding ticket, other than not having to worry about the paperwork and showing up in court? It does not seem to me $400-$600 well spent. What is a realistic percentage of cases won by defendants (and their agents) when the officer did show up?

 

[Jimsun]

Well always ask what they can guarantee. Make sure to ALWAYS ALWAYS hire an agent that is known in the court house. I cannot stress not that enough. Regulars in the court house knows the jp and everyone else. This said, the chances of you getting the best result is at its peak.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

The odds of an experienced representative have charges reduced or dropped is significantly higher than for the average civilian for one simple reason; knowledge. Someone who takes a great deal of time to prepare for the trial might well have just as much of a chance, but very few do that.

 

[Iceman]

If you have a decent abstract, the crown will usually work with you one on one , ie fine but no points. If your abstract is that bad that you need an agent, perhaps you need to rethink how you drive.


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[hedo2002]

If you have a decent abstract, the crown will usually work with you one on one , ie fine but no points. If your abstract is that bad that you need an agent, perhaps you need to rethink how you drive.


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Crowns can NOT reduce or eliminate points or for that matter can the JP the points are assessed by the MTO and the courts have no control over them all the crown can do is offer a reduced fine.

 

[Iceman]

Crowns can NOT reduce or eliminate points or for that matter can the JP the points are assessed by the MTO and the courts have no control over them all the crown can do is offer a reduced fine.

That's strange, my wife went to court with a 75km in a 50 zone. First ticket in eleven years. spoke to crown, ticket dropped to 59 in a 50. $45 fine and no points? Huh.


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[bboySushi]

I think what Hedo is referring to is that the Crown can change the charge, but they cannot change the amount of demerit points associated with that charge.

not missing work alone is almost reason to hire, depending on what you do for a living. second to that the headache and the time spent preparing and worrying.

There were a lot of recommendations on Redline so I called Forch. I had a clean record but that didn't help, they went to trial three times, cop showed every time and eventually won my case. Case was getting too technical and drawn out that the cop walked out of the court room before being called because he was too impatient haha.

How much did I spend? Three appearances, an affidavit...Probably close to $700-900. Was it worth it? Hell yeah. That's not even a $30 increase in insurance per month, not to mention impact it could have on future potential infractions.

Redline wanted me to be there, they had good communication with me. If someone said "I don't want you to come to court" then it might be fishy, though maybe they just don't want you to screw up. But then again, a good one would prep you. Just thinking of this guy from ex-coppers I saw in court which just walked in and pleaded guilty to lesser. Not redline. Look for recommendations, redline has helped a bunch of people on this forum (mine was in a car anyways though)

 

[Rob MacLennan]

Crowns can NOT reduce or eliminate points or for that matter can the JP the points are assessed by the MTO and the courts have no control over them all the crown can do is offer a reduced fine.

This is only true if the infraction carries a set number of points. For example if convicted of "operation of a vehicle without due care and attention" you would be penalized with 6 demerit points, which neither The Crown nor the JP could reduce. On the other hand if you plead the charge down to "exceeding the speed limit by 29 Kmh" you would then be subjected to only 3 points on your license. "Improper driving where the highway is divided into lanes" (3 points) could be reduced to "disobey sign" (2 points), if the reason for the charge was ignoring a "no passing" sign.

 

[MarcosSantiago]

I was reading on Canlii about recent cases involving speeding infractions and I couldn't help but notice that in all cases that I've read so far the defendants were represented by at least an agent and in all cases they lost.

...

LoL... For sure! Realistically, no paralegal, agent, lawyer, etc. has a perfect winning record (for that matter, the same can be said about doctors, dentists, investors advisor, etc.). Sometimes they win, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they lose a lot.

If a paralegal promises the client that the charge will be 100% dismissed, is because the charge is an "easy" one to be dealt with (example, documents not present).

For other charges that are more serious and there is evidence against the client (laser reading of speed, witnesses, etc.), no paralegal can promise with certainty that the charge will be dismissed 100% - because anything can happen in court (obviously, some paralegals still promise the moon and everything, but mostly they are lying to the client).

Anyway, I think people here already posted the reasons: you are playing the odds that a paralegal has of winning your case (his odd of winning are better than the client’s). Also, the time and convenience.

 

[hedo2002]

Correct I didn't say the crown could not amend the charge to one with lesser points assigned to it. But what I did say is using your example if the charge upon conviction carries 6 demerit points the crown can NOT reduce, (again upon conviction of that charge), to say 3 points. They often use the reduced charge with less points as an "incentive" to get people to plead out on the charge so they don't have to go to trial. Most people fall for this not realizing that it still affects their insurance.

Nowobviously it is betetr to get convicted of a lesser charge with less points assigned which would then fall into the cateogry, (from insurance stand point), as a minor infraction as opposed to taking a hit on a charge classified, (again by insurers), as a major infraction.

This is only true if the infraction carries a set number of points. For example if convicted of "operation of a vehicle without due care and attention" you would be penalized with 6 demerit points, which neither The Crown nor the JP could reduce. On the other hand if you plead the charge down to "exceeding the speed limit by 29 Kmh" you would then be subjected to only 3 points on your license. "Improper driving where the highway is divided into lanes" (3 points) could be reduced to "disobey sign" (2 points), if the reason for the charge was ignoring a "no passing" sign.

 

[unL33T]

In my experience it's not worthwhile. I've hired 2 so far in my life. I lost both.

The first one didn't even catch that the speed limit written on the ticket didn't match what I was charged with (I was charged with 94 in a 50 when it was actually a 60, also my car at the time wasn't capable in reaching that speed in the distance I had so I dunno where the cop pulled the number from).

Second one never even called me to let me know the result of the case. I found out when I got a letter in the mail asking for payment of the fine.

 

[Deanmac]

A lawyer friend of mine recommended someone to me to fight a ticket. He was an ex-cop and I realized how the game worked, at least in my case. On the day of court, he asks me to stay outside the courtroom while he did his dance. I watched from the sidelines and all I saw was him talking to the Crown and the cop and all they were doing was telling jokes with each other. He then comes out and tells me that I'm not in a good position on this one and that they offered a deal that he recommended I take, which I did. Subsequent to that experience, I decided to go it alone from this point forward and not buy into the old boy's club. I realized that the deal offered to me in my previous offence, with representation, was not too dissimilar to the offer presented to me by the clerk when I checked in to fight my ticket. I decided to fight that ticket and won,despite the officer showing up. What was the difference? I was fully prepared. Where did I get my research - mainly from this forum. Being prepared was the key. I also wore a suit which I truly believe makes a difference.

 

[johnscruiser]

If you have a decent abstract, the crown will usually work with you one on one , ie fine but no points. If your abstract is that bad that you need an agent, perhaps you need to rethink how you drive.

What do the points matter for anyway? Do you have so many tickets you're running out of them??

 

[unL33T]

Yeah points don't matter unless your record is royally screwed. All insurance cares about is whether it's a major or minor infraction.

 

[Bike Cop]

Points are accumulated, not subtracted from your record. You start with 0, and build from there. The points will be on your record for 2 years from the offence date, not the conviction date. I once dealt with an individual that got 7-8 tickets per year and didn't have enough points to suspend his licence because he fully understood how to play the system. In the long run, it bit him, but he got away with it for quite a while.

Another interesting fact is that if you are convicted of more than one offence where demerit points are assessed, only the higher demerit point total goes on the record. ie. careless driving (6 points), with a speed 16-29km/hr over (3 points), on conviction would net only 6 points, not 9.

 

[H4x0rz]

That's strange, my wife went to court with a 75km in a 50 zone. First ticket in eleven years. spoke to crown, ticket dropped to 59 in a 50. $45 fine and no points? Huh.


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Hes actually right. Crowns cannot remove points. Neither can justice of the peace. But they can substitute or amend the charges to a different charge or less of a charge, that don't carry points ;-)