-
Speeding Ticket Error
I recently received a speeding ticket of 132 Km/h. I was on a 400 series highway(403), which has a maximum speed of 100 Km/h. The officer which issued me the ticket, wrote it down as 132 Km/h in an 80 Km/h zone. Do I scrap the ticket? or do I go to the ontario court of justice to find out whats the deal?
-
Ticket
Unless you wish to be convicted by default, you can't trash the ticket. You would likely benefit from contesting it, and bringing proof to the hearing of the actual speed limit.
-
I'm not sure about Canadian traffic law, but in the US (in most states and jurisdictions), the courts have the authority to amend the ticket charge, and the terms of the ticket, meaning that instead of throwing the ticket out on an inaccuracy regarding the posted speed limit, they will simply change the posted limit you violated to the correct one. So since you were still speeding 32 km/h over the limit, that is what they will give you. This is a mere reduction, rather than a dismissal.
If I were you, I would go to court. Again, I'm assuming that Canadian law is similar to US law, but your best defense would probably be to question the credibility of the officer. Since he made a mistake as to what the speed limit really was in that zone, grill him on other technicalities that may diminish the credibility of his speed readings, etc.
Good luck
-
That claim seems problematic, only a legitimate prosecutorial representative of the people of the state can charge someone with a crime, a judge cannot, and a judge cannot act as a prosecutor, and amending a complaint is the prosecutors job, not a jduges.
In Calif that prohibition is People v Carlucci from the Cal Supremes.
-
It sounds like the description was of convicting the offender of a lesser, included charge, not actually amending the charge.