http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...=1#post1729017
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I understand and with the possibility of having the fine increased regardless of my defense strategy......I'm re-considering my options.
If I plea not guily and ask for disclosure. Come court date time and I don't show up.... Can they increase the fine without my presence? I figure it will give me 6 months or more of time?
Usually for tickets that I know I'm guilty of (excluding traffic tickets), I just plead guilty, ***** about being a student with no money, act very remorseful, and the JP lowers the fine.
I found a loophole at one of the TTC subway stations that would let me on for free, but a few years later they caught on. $400 fine IIRC.. I was nice and remorseful to the cop and she gave me the minumum ($60). I took it to a JP, and did the whole remorse/broke/student thing and it he dropped it to $10. Also gave me 60 days to pay it.
If you know youre guilty and will probably be convicted, its worth a shot. This way, I dont think they will raise the fine on you.
P.S. Find real excuses as to why you are broke. Lol, I'm actually a student so I wasn't lying. I'm sure you can work the recession/an unexpected expense into your excuse. They record everything so it's not worth lying..he even made me state which University I go to.
Doesn't anyone see a problem with a system that adds additional risk of penalties to people for exercising their fundamental right to a trial?
I feel this is an attempt by the Crown/Justice system to extort pleas from the accused and is a slippery slope.
Regardless of the conduct of the accused in the courtroom, the person is on trial for the ACT they committed and should face the same penalty as others who've committed the same act under the same set of circumstances. Some may argue it's the person's character on trial, I disagree.
In the case of the trespass ticket, if the man had otherwise kept his mouth shut, would he have faced the same $500 fine? We have laws on the books to deal with improper conduct in the courtroom.
incorrect info. its definately not an automatic increase in fine, . ive been to court a lot and this rarely happens. when you do see a fine being increased its when a speeding ticket has already been reduced and the defendant is attending court for the soul purpose of trying to get it further reduced.
certain JP's are starting to do this due to the number of people attending court tyring to get a fine reduction by pleading guilty and plea bargaining, which 95% of POA court is.
It's an out of court settlement which is effectively no different from a plea bargain, in a Criminal Code case. there is no guarantee that the fine will be higher, if you take it to court, but you also take the risk that it might be. This system helps to keep the court system from being flooded when the issue is clear-cut, while still providing the option of exercising your rights.
That isn't a problem, it's a solution.
Think of it as an incentive to not waste time, rather than a penalty for going =D
Either way, Its not the best idea, but I can't think of a better solution to keep people from disputing things "just cause".
The alternative is for them to raise all the fines to factor in the extra costs of everyone disputing their fines.
This is a municipal bylaw ticket, not a provincial traffic ticket. Lower fine amounts for out-of-court settlement of municipal bylaw offences is common.
Read the bylaw. The link appears near the top of the thread. The $450-plus fine due on first-offence conviction is clearly stated in the bylaw.
I understand what you are saying but I'm with the poster who thinks that the possibility of going to court and getting a higher fine is a form of intimidation. There should be no penalty for going to court to fight a charge. The "plea bargain" should not be done by the police officer. "Plea bargains" should be struck with the court.
plea bargains are not done by officer.
When you live in a university poser filled city it's not stretching the limit. I pay huge property tax to live in Waterloo and I don't want to walk through some goofs puke because they were to stupid to stop drinking earlier. These people usually just come here for schooling then are gone. Some of us live here and want our city to be clean.
Sorry neighbour. You pay to play. I'd expect to pay if I was in your shoes.
Pay'd up. Didn't want to chance an increased fine. Either way there is a definite possibility the court would have increased it!
Ive lived here my whole life and are quite aware of the temp residence and the mess they can make in our town. (I did wash it down with 2 bottles of water thou:) I just wasn't aware of the $300 fine.
Lesson learned.