This is the document that’s commonly called a “ticket”. It’s used by a peace officer, police officer, or any other officer responsible for enforcing the law to indicate she has evidence you committed an illegal act. This document is the basis of the case against you. It is important to respond to a ticket because there may be significant consequences if you ignore it.

There are many other rules outlining offences in addition to the Highway Safety Code violation described above. Here are some examples: you are caught smoking in an area where smoking is prohibited; the sign in your restaurant does not comply with the language by-law covering signs; you sell alcohol without a licence; you are hunting protected game; you work as a plumber without a licence, etc.

The officer usually gives you the statement of offence right on the spot. You may also receive it by registered mail or find it on your car windshield.

The name and contact information of the accused appear in the statement of offence, as well as a description of the offence including the date, place and time it occurred. The police officer signs the statement of offence.

The statement of offence contains useful information on how to respond. It also contains a plea form that resembles a reply coupon. You can enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

You have thirty days as of the date you receive the statement to respond, regardless of your plea. A judge will examine the file and may convict you in your absence and order you to pay a fine and costs if you do not reply within the thirty days, without any other notification or summons.

Check the appropriate box and follow the payment instructions if you committed the offence described in the statement and want to plead guilty. Paying the amount indicated means the same thing as if you enter a guilty plea.

The only way to contest the ticket if you are convinced you did not commit the offence described in the statement is to enter a plea of not guilty.

You should know that costs are added to the fine if you are convicted at the trial after having pleaded not guilty. The costs may more than double the amount of the fine in some cases. In addition, most people find going before the court stressful and may have to miss work. It is up to you to balance the costs associated with pleading guilty against your chances of winning and your feelings about the process.

To get the ball rolling, complete the plea form or forms and check the “not guilty” box. You are under absolutely no obligation to explain your reasons for contesting even if there is a space for doing so on the plea form.

The address where you should send your plea or payment is indicated on the documents. It is a good idea to make a copy of your plea before sending it and keep proof that it was sent (send it registered mail and keep the receipt, for example).

You will receive a notice of hearing summoning you to appear in court.

The date, time, and place of the trial are set out in the notice of hearing you will receive after you plead not guilty. The notice is basically a summons to come and explain your version of the facts. The court can make a decision in your case even if you don’t show up on this date – you may be found guilty in your absence.

Contact the court that summoned you as soon as possible if you can’t make it on the date chosen for the trial and ask for another trial date. Most municipal courts sit in the morning, afternoon and evening. You can make your request in writing, but remember, you must explain why you cannot be there at the chosen time. Your reasons must be serious and well founded. The judge may ask you to explain your reasons in person or see documents before deciding to postpone the trial. He may even refuse to change the date.

Trial preparation is important if you want to successfully contest a statement of offence. Write down your version as soon as possible after you have received the statement. This will help you remember details such as the times, dates, colour of a car, description of a person or a place or any other relevant fact you will have to remember at a later date.

Note the names and addresses of any witnesses. It might be useful to ask these witnesses to write down their version, if the police or other officers haven’t already done so.

Ask your witnesses to testify at the trial. Send them a “subpoena” or a “summons to testify” if you are not sure they will appear. This is a document sent to a witness ordering him to appear in court at a precise time to testify. The “Summons to testify” forms are available at the courthouse register. Ask a judge, clerk or your lawyer to sign the summons and send it by registered mail to the witness. Above all, make sure you keep proof of receipt. It will be easier for the judge to postpone the trial to a later date if the witness does not show up the day of the trial. The judge can even issue an arrest warrant for the absent witness.

Gather any documents, photos, sketches, maps, bills, estimates, etc. that support your version of the facts. For example, suppose you are accused of driving without having paid for your driver’s licence. This is an administrative error because you definitely paid for and renewed your licence on your birthday.

Find your bank statement that proves the transaction and put the original in your file to present to the judge at trial. Be sure to make copies for the court record and the Crown prosecutor. You will be more efficient and make a better impression if you are organized.

Yes. The Crown prosecutor has an obligation to send you all the evidence he possesses relevant to the alleged offence, even if he will not use it at trial. This is what is called “disclosing” the evidence.

It is one of the most important aspects of preparing for trial.

You may receive police reports from officers involved in the file, written witness statements, and even photos, videos, maps, sketches, or expert reports. You may sometimes be asked to pay a reasonable fee for copies or translations. You are not entitled to information on how to contact complainants or witnesses.

You are responsible for asking that the evidence be disclosed within a reasonable period prior to the trial. Contact the courthouse, the municipal court or the Crown prosecutor’s office for information about the rules to follow in your municipality.

It can prove useful to read the evidence you have received because it may help you identify the elements or witnesses that support your case. It will also allow you during the trial to highlight contradictions between written police or civil witness statements, and the versions given when testifying.

Under provincial law the Crown can file the police report in the court record without having the police officer testify in court. In fact, police officers rarely appear in court to testify about tickets. The Crown decides whether or not the officer’s testimony is required. You must ask in advance for a police officer to be summoned to testify if you feel you must examine him for your defence. Note that the judge may order you to pay additional costs if she does not feel the police officer’s presence was justified.

Dress conservatively the day of the trial. Make sure you get there early. Locate the courtroom once you have arrived at the courthouse or municipal court and tell the court clerk (the person or people seated in the middle of the room in front of the judge’s bench) that you are there.

Make sure your witnesses, if any, are present. Have them reread their statement. Have your well-organized file in hand and go sit in the courtroom with your witnesses.

Many people may have been given the same hearing date and time as you. However, the cases will be called one after the other according to the order established by the court services. This can take a couple of minutes or several hours. Plan for one-half to a full day to contest a ticket. Observe how the other trials are proceeding to learn more about how a trial unfolds.

Come forward with your file when the bailiff has called your name.

The judge makes all the decisions in the courtroom. She will decide the outcome of your case and must understand your version. Refer to the judge as “Your Honour”. The expression “Your Worship” is outdated.

You can ask the judge to order the witnesses to wait outside the courtroom before testifying so they do not hear all the different versions of your case. Don’t forget that the judge has no idea about the case in front of her and that the only available evidence for the moment is the statement of offence. The Crown prosecutor files the original statement of offence and the incident report prepared by the police officer, if any, in the court record as evidence of the offence.

The Crown will question the witnesses she has summoned to testify. Once the Crown prosecutor has finished examining the witness, it is your turn to ask the witness questions to provide detail on or clarify any elements that support your case, or to point out contradictions. Ask closed questions to which there are yes or no answers. Prepare your questions in advance; you don’t have to ask very many. This is not the time to tell the judge your side of the story. Cross-examination is a science and amateurs rarely help their case when cross-examining witnesses. Crown witnesses tell their version one after the next until they have all testified.

Now it is your turn to present your defence, that is to say, your evidence.

Most of the time you have to testify in order to prove your innocence. You are often the only one who can explain your version to the judge. In addition, you must testify about certain documents if they are to be entered in the court record. But you are never legally obliged to testify. For example, maybe you want to show the judge your bankbook to prove that you paid for your licence and the amount was debited from your bank account. You must then testify to enter your bankbook, explain that it is your document, and point out the relevant transactions.

One thing is certain, you must answer all relevant questions the prosecutor or the judge asks you if you decide to testify.

Prepare your version if you have decided to testify. After being sworn in, explain the facts clearly and precisely to the judge, who may also ask you questions. Tell her if you don’t know the answer to, or you aren’t sure you understood, a question. Use any documents or photos you prepared as mentioned earlier.

Ask the judge to hear any witnesses you have summoned before or after your testimony. Ask them what they know about the case. Ask general questions and then have the witness provide more precise details.

Example:
You –Do you remember the evening of December 8, 2001?

Witness –Yes of course, I was with you.

You –Where were we?

Witness –In the car on the Boulevard.

You –Had we crossed the intersection of Boulevard and Avenue?

Witness –Yes, I remember.

You –Do you recall the position of the lights when we crossed the intersection?

Witness –We were stopped at the red light, and we drove on when it turned green.

You –Why do you remember?


You are not allowed to give your witness the answer when asking a question.

For example:
You –Do you remember December 8, 2001?

Witness -Yes.

You –Is it true we were together in my car on the Boulevard?

Witness -Yes.

You – Wasn’t the light green when we crossed the avenue?

Witness -Yes.


Tell the judge you have presented all your evidence once you have finished testifying and all your witnesses have been heard. In theory, you are not allowed to add anything whatsoever to your version from this point on.

The judge will allow you to speak and make any comments regarding the offence and the evidence. This is when you should connect the different elements and highlight certain important aspects of the evidence. Do not start testifying again. This step is called pleading and is difficult to describe in a couple of sentences because it requires a lot of finesse and subtlety. In general, the judge already has a good idea of your version of the facts by the end of the trial and will surely ask for any details if necessary. Many times comments are superfluous. The Crown is also entitled to make observations. The decision is in the judge’s hands once the pleadings are finished.

It depends on the nature of the inaccurate information. Does it raise a reasonable doubt about your guilt? Remember that this is the goal of your defence!

For example, suppose that the statement of offence indicates that you were driving a red car but you can prove that your car is blue.

If your defence consists of proving that you were going slower than the speed indicated on the statement of offence, the car’s colour is irrelevant.

But, if you are trying to prove that when you came within the radar’s range, a red car sped past you and that the radar registered the speed of this car, then the colour indicated on the statement of offence could be relevant.

No. The law does not require a police officer to show you the speed registered on the radar. But, if you believe that you were going slower than the speed written on the statement of offence, you can tell this to the judge; you can also tell the judge that the police officer refused to show you the reading on the radar.

Depending on your credibility as a witness, the judge could consider this fact in his evaluation of the police officer’s credibility. Again, it is important to remember that the goal of your defence is to raise a reasonable doubt about your guilt.

According to the rules of evidence, an accused person has the right to receive a copy of the police report. The report contains detailed information on the police officer’s observations and replaces his testimony at trial. It can be very useful for an accused person to request a copy of this report from the prosecutor in order to be aware of the evidence that will be presented against him and in order to adequately respond to such evidence.