Lawyers and Paralegals
Whether you hire a lawyer or paralegal is up to you. As the fee for most lawyers will far out way the cost of the ticket, a paralegal company like Ontario Traffic Tickets is usually the best way to be represented in court. If your going represent yourself in court these are the questions you have to ask yourself to know whether your qualified to do so.
You need someone to represent you in court if you cannot answer these seven questions
- How do you oppose a crown motion?
- What are the prosecutions obligations in regards to filing dates ?
- What is the proper set fine for your ticket ?
- What is meant by the phrase “improper on its face”?
- What is meant by "an after service amendment"?
- How do you examine a certificate of offence?
- What is a fatal error?
If you cannot answer these questions you are not qualified to represent yourself in court.
If you do represent yourself in court there is a very high chance that you will be convicted of the speeding ticket.
The economics behind a speeding ticket are simple, pay a reasonable amount to be properly represented in court, possibly saving yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars or represent yourself and pay an insurance company higher premiums for three to five years. Which way will save you more down the road?
You always need a paralegal or lawyer if you have accumulated over 6 demerit points for previous tickets. At 9 points the Ministry of Transportation will call you in for an interview to suspend your drivers licence for 30 days.
At 15 points the Ministry will immediately suspend your licence for 30 days. If you licence is suspended expect your insurance rates to increase 100 percent. If you are approaching this level you need every chance to win your ticket. You need a paralegal or lawyer who knows about speeding tickets, the answers to the seven questions, and how to run a trial.
You always need legal representation if you are charged with exceeding the speed limit by more than 50km/h, as the prosecutor can ask the court to impose an immediate 30 licence suspension.
It is not true that the prosecution and courts will give you a benefit or chance because this is your first ticket, or you have a good record. Most courts will not give you credit for a good record, but many courts will use a bad record against you.
If you do hire a lawyer over a paralegal make sure you hire one who has experience fighting speeding tickets. As the practice of law is huge, many lawyers have no experience whatsoever in the Provincial Offences Courts or fighting speeding tickets. Usually a competent paralegal firm like Ontario Traffic Tickets will save you hundreds of dollars over a lawyer.
Many qualified paralegals are actually better at fighting speeding tickets than most lawyers.
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