Hire a Professional
Maximize Your Defence
There is truth in the axiom "You get what you pay for."
When it comes to traffic tickets, the Proceedings under the Ontario Provincial Offences Act and related statutes are designed to provide a "speedy, efficient and inexpensive method of prosecution of relatively simple regulatory offences". This premise had its beginnings as far back as the mid 1980's and is reflected in the case of R. v. Golden, (85) O.J. 2006, which stated that the Provincial Offences Act was not meant as a trap for the unskilled or the unwary but was meant to deal with cases of a simple nature.
Proceedings under the Ontario Provincial Offences Act are simple, however, the the proceedings can be quite complicated for an individual seeking to present their own defence. Most people who decide to defend themselves in Provincial matters do so because it appears to be cheaper than hiring a professional. They wish to save money and commonly share the one-tier belief that "If the officer doesn’t show up, I’ll get off." Truth be told, this is not necessarily the case. The courts do acquit those who appear in court when the officer does not show up. The courts also adjourn matters to another date when the officer does not show up, requiring an accused to attend trial on another date.
In many cases charged persons are taking time off work, arranging travel, spending time on research and attempting to run trials on their own. Most frequently, unrepresented persons end up convicted. Convicted individuals receive a conviction on their records, they end up paying the fine and find they must now toil with the prospect of increased insurance rates. Some individuals experience the potential loss of driving privileges and sometimes even a period of incarceration. Those who have experience with both the Criminal Court System and Quasi-Criminal Provincial Offences Court system will tell you the same thing – the penalties in the Provincial Offences System can be far more severe than the penalties imposed in the Criminal System.
You have already taken a wise first step. You are reading this, therefore you are weighing your options on how to proceed. By hiring a professional to defend your interests, you are taking strong steps towards a potential acquittal. By knowing the law, a licenced legal professional can help you with your matter(s) and in most cases, you will never even have to attend court. Your legal professional will accept your ticket(s) and summons(es), file the appropriate applications and requests, examine the evidence against you and present your defence from an angle of advantage. All of this will be done in accordance with your instructions.
By hiring professional legal services you are maximizing your chances of a successful resolution to your Provincial Offences Act matters.