what to expect at the first court hearing for traffic
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You were given a traffic ticket and decided to dispute it, then you filed aNotice of Dispute and received aNotice of Hearing. At present your court engagement is coming upward and you wonder how your hearing volition piece of work. Will information technology be similar a trial on 'Law and Order', or perchance similar those conducted by Judge Judy?
Well, no. ThiseNews describes how a Traffic Court hearing is likely to work and gives tips on how to conduct your instance in court.
This article deals with traffic ticket hearings, but procedure is similar in hearings for offences under municipal by-laws and tickets issued under other provincial and federal statutes, except that the prosecution may be conducted by a lawyer instead of a police officer. The data in the commodity is taken from the Court'due south new Guide to Disputing a Ticket.
When you get in at the courthouse
Come up to court at to the lowest degree 30 minutes early on. Allow plenty of fourth dimension to travel to courtroom and notice parking. The police officer who will testify in your instance volition frequently be in that location early and may offer to talk to you. If you did not ask for information almost the case from the constabulary officer before the hearing, the police officer tin can tell you what bear witness they have and the witnesses they intend to call during your trial.
Many other hearings will be scheduled at the aforementioned fourth dimension every bit your hearing. Be prepared to wait, sometimes for up to two to 3 hours. Cases will generally be dealt with in the order they announced on the court list. However, if a matter is brief, such as a guilty plea or adjournment application, it will be chosen before the hearings. The hearings may be heard in age order, that is, the oldest affair starting time.
• Dress comfortably and respectfully - no short shorts, no tank tops, bare midriffs, or bare feet, no hats (except for religious headwear) and no wear with disrespectful slogans or pictures.
• Exercise not bring food or drinks into the court room, and do not chew gum in the court.
• Endeavour to get a babysitter; if not, bring someone else to sit with your children during your hearing. If y'all do bring your children and have no one to assist you with them, bring activities to go along them occupied during your hearing so that you won't be distracted by them.
• Plough your jail cell telephone off for the entire time that you lot are in the courtroom. If yous need your phone during the hearing, inquire permission to use information technology.
How the hearing begins
When your proper name is chosen come to the forepart of the court and stand up to the left of the table at the front.
The person who conducts Traffic Court hearings in BC Provincial Courtroom is a judicial justice - the proper manner to accost them is "Your Worship". You lot should stand when you are speaking to the justice or when they are speaking to you.
The justice will read the charge to y'all and ask for your plea. If you agree that you committed the offence and desire to inquire for a fine reduction, youplead guilty. If you desire to dispute the charge, you lotplead not guilty.
If you plead guilty
The procedure is the aforementioned as if you are found guilty, described below.
If yous plead non guilty
If y'all plead not guilty, the hearing volition start.
The justice volition explain the process to you, and you lot tin ask them questions about anything that you practise not understand, but they cannot requite yous legal advice. To get legal advice, talk to a lawyer well before your hearing. Practise not interrupt the justice when they are speaking, as at that place are certain things they need to explain to you.
The prove confronting you lot
The law officeholder will present their instance first. They will swear an oath to tell the truth or brand a solemn affidavit, and so tell the justice most what they saw and why they gave you the ticket. Sometimes, police officers announced by telephone rather than in person. They may also telephone call additional witnesses to describe what happened.
The reason the police officer goes first is that yous are presumed to be innocent and they must evidence their example beyond a reasonable doubt. If they provide no evidence or non enough bear witness in the hearing, you will be found non guilty.
You lot have the right to "cross-examine" – to enquire questions of the police officer and whatever witnesses they telephone callafter they accept finished telling the justice everything they accept to say.
A "mini-hearing" about annihilation you said to the police force officer
The law officer may wish to tell the justice what they believe you said at the traffic stop. Because the police force officer is a person in dominance, the police officeholder must prove beyond a reasonable uncertainty that when yous spoke to them, y'all spoke voluntarily.
The officer must convince the justice that they did zero past word, human action or gesture that made y'all think things would become better for you if you lot spoke to the officeholder or things could go worse if you didn't speak to the officer.
If yous do not believe you spoke voluntarily or wish the officer to attempt to prove it, the justice will bear a mini-hearing to determine if the police officer is able to "prove voluntariness" beyond a reasonable doubt. The legal term for this mini-hearing is "voir dire". You are entitled to be a witness in the mini-hearing and tell the justice almost what you saw and heard the constabulary officer say and practise and how that made yous feel.
Yet, if you agree that y'all spoke voluntarily to the officer no mini-hearing is necessary, and the officeholder will tell the justice what they believe you said.
If voluntariness is proven, what the police officer states that you said will be part of the evidence for the justice to consider in the hearing on your traffic ticket.
If voluntariness is not proven, the justice will ignore all the testimony in the mini-hearing, including everything the constabulary officer states that you said at the traffic cease.
Your bear witness
When the police officer'southward example is finished you lot must decide whether you lot wish to prove yourself and/or present witnesses.
You do not have to present ("phone call") witnesses or exist a witness yourself considering you are presumed to exist innocent. If you practise prove or call witnesses, the police officeholder can question you and try to undermine your example the same style that you were able to question the police officer and their witnesses.
Withal, beingness a witness yourself or calling other people equally witnesses is the only manner the justice tin consider your side of the story. You lot must make up one's mind for yourself whether to testify and/or nowadays witnesses.
Witnesses must come to court. The court volition not usually consider letters or written statements in the hearing. A amendment is a court society that requires a person to nourish court. You can obtain a subpoena at the Court Registry to compel your witnesses to come to court or provide them with a document to bear witness their employer.
If you want the justice to consider photos, pleaseprint them to give to the courtroom. 3 copies are platonic, but one copy volition do. You should prove the photos to the police officer when yous question them during their testimony. Ask them questions to identify what the photos evidence and bring out the prove they draw.
Summing up
After all the witnesses have been questioned you lot take the correct to summarize the example and bespeak out to the justice the weaknesses in the police officeholder's instance. The police officer may exercise this as well nearly the strength of their instance or the weaknesses in your case.
The conclusion
Usually, the justice will make a conclusion immediately after you have you have summarized the case. If the law officer has proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt, you lot will exist found guilty. If not, you volition be found not guilty.
Penalties
If yous are found non guilty that is the end of the thing and no fine or penalty points will exist imposed.
If you lot are found guilty, the justice volition then decide on the advisable penalty. It's important to know that:
• It is simply at this time that the constabulary officer tin tell the courtroom about your driving record, if you have one. (Your record tin't be mentioned during the hearing, merely information technology can exist used to inquire for an increased fine or back up a driving prohibition later a finding of guilt.)
• You may ask for a lower fine at this point. For many offences the justice tin impose a fine lower than the one shown on your ticket. Explicate why the circumstances of the traffic offence and your circumstances justify a lower fine.
• For some offences, the justice cannot reduce the fine below a minimum set by law.
• The justicecannot reduce whatever penalization points. They are set past regulations.
• The justice may besides decide that a prohibition from driving should be imposed. This may happen if you have a significant driving record and/or the facts of the case testify that yous made very dangerous driving decisions. If losing your driver's licence would bear on your employment y'all might want to ask the justice to give you lot time to consult or rent a lawyer to speak for you on this issue.
Ask the justice to explain anything that you don't understand.
More information
Much of this website's information on preparing for a criminal trial volition apply to traffic and other tickets and by-law hearings besides.
See too How do I dispute a ticket and fix for a Traffic Court hearing? and Guide to Disputing a Ticket.
Provincial Violation Ticket Forms are available online or at a Provincial Courtroom registry or Services BC office.
BC Motor Vehicle Human activity
Regulations
Violation Ticket Assistants and Fines Regulation
This commodity provides full general information only and should not be used as authority in court proceedings or as a substitute for legal communication.
Source: https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca/enews/enews-21-08-2018
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