Professional Traffic Ticket Representation:

Question: How can a paralegal help me defend a minor driving charge in Ontario if I already have demerit points or prior convictions?

Answer: A paralegal can review your disclosure, identify procedural gaps, and build a persuasive defence to reduce the chance of conviction and its knock-on effects on demerit points, licence risk, and insurance impacts where you are close to suspension or employment requires a fully clear record.   In Ontario, minor charges can still be high stakes when added to recent convictions within the past three years, or when a new ticket within two years increases demerit points enough to threaten suspension, so an assertive approach may be prudent rather than “just paying the fine.”   Lippa Legal Services helps drivers across Ontario with traffic-ticket representation and strategy that puts your best interests first, so call (416) 241-4529 to discuss your situation and next steps.

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Defending Minor Driving Offences

Individually, minor charges pose a relatively minor fine and little risk to a potential for significantly increased insurance rates or concern for a possible licence suspension for accumulating of too many demerit points.  Accordingly, in most circumstances, drivers charged with a minor offence will forgo the trouble and effort to fight a minor charge; however, there are some circumstances where a strong defence to a minor charge is prudent and warranted.

Providing Strategic Advocacy

The circumstances, among others, that may warrant aggressively defending minor charges include:

• When a driver was convicted within the past three years for other minor, major, or serious, charges and where another conviction, even for just a minor infraction, will result in significantly adverse affects;
• When a driver was charged within the past two years for other charges and the accumulation of demerit points now puts the driver at risk of a licence suspension, among other significant penalties; and
• When a driver is required to maintain a fully clear record as a condition of employment.

Although relatively minimal affects, generally, result upon conviction for a minor traffic ticket charge, a multitude of minor charges, or a single minor charge that will be combined with prior convictions, may result in significant adversity making a strongly mounted defence worthy in the effort to fight a minor charge.

Minor Charges Include:

Conclusion

Traffic tickets of the minor charges type may still pose significant risk to a driver with potentially serious consequences whereas a minor charge in combination with prior convictions becomes 'the straw that breaks the camels back' resulting in substantially increased insurance rates including possible loss of standard insurance market and placement into the 'Facility Association', potential license suspension for accumulating too many demerit points, among other things.  Accordingly, even for a minor charge, hiring a professional who knows how to question witnesses, including which questions to ask and which questions to avoid, and who knows the law and is ready to make persuasive arguments on the applicable legal principles, is highly important.  For representation that puts your best interests first, contact Lippa Legal Services today.