Missed traffic ticket court date - What should I do!?

[umesh840]

Hey guys,

My dad had a traffic ticket court date today at 1:30pm and he left the country because his cousins funeral and will be back in 1-2 weeks, He told me to go in and let them know that he is not in the country will be back in 1-2 weeks, but I had got caught in traffic and could not end up making it to the court, what can I do now? my dad still wants to take the ticket he recived to court

[Xtina]

They found you guilty in your absence. Wait for the conviction notice in the mail then file an appeal, it's not a guarantee they'll accept it though.

[umesh840]

So I dont have to do anything until I get the notice in the mail right?

[AF4iK]

Don't wait, go back to the court offices where your dad filed his ticket, explain the situation and ask for another court date. I missed my court date once and had it rescheduled this way. I don't recall if they considered this an appeal or not but either way you should get the desired result. Good luck

[iFly55]

he should bring an obituary, his flight itinerary/tickets and even his passport to show arrival/departure stamps at those locations

unfortunately his father is already found guilty of the offense

he will have to convince a JP to re-open the case, and bringing all of the above will help

[mr_squid]

I missed a court date in the past because I was out of the country as well. It was totally my fault, as I got my dates mixed up when I booked my trip. What made it worse is that I never received my disclosure, so the ticket would have gotten tossed. When I met with the JP to reopen the case, I brought all my flight proof, and told him I never got disclosure, that I wanted to reopen it. He was a dick, and did not open the case back up because my trip was pleasure, not business related. So your dad might have better luck getting it reopened since it was a funeral, just make sure he brings all the supporting documents.

To add to my personal story, after it got denied by the JP, my next step was to appeal it at the newmarket court house. So I did that, and when I told the judge I was out of the country, and just wanted to reopen the case since I did not receive the disclosure, he turned to the prosecutor and asked why I did not get it. Prosecutor told him it was not available, so judge gave the prosecutor crap, saying "if it's not available, what's the point of reopenening the case?", then looked at me and said you are free to go, the charge is withdrawn. 2 weeks later I got my money back in the mail.