A general question regarding a ticket

[jimmer]

Do water infraction tickets given to people based on a complaint from another civilian stand up in court? Police did not witness any of the action that lead to the complaint. Just curious.

Thanks

[BillM]

Only way to figure that out is to go to court. What was the ticket for?

[Andy]

The answer is yes. The police can rely on the statements of witnesses and this will likely be some of the evidence used to support the charge if the police did not witness the event themselves. If you are charged with a provincial offence (usually a ticket of some kind) or a criminal offence, you can request disclosure from the Court office, and you or your lawyer/paralegal/traffic ticket specialist will receive a package of the evidence that is being used to support the charge. If it's a ticket you have, send it or take it to the provincial offences office listed on the back and check on the back that you wish to fight the ticket and then request disclosure. Once you get disclosure, you can review the evidence and decide if it's worth taking to trial, pleading guilty, or seeking some sort of resolution with the Crown. I hope this info is useful.

[jimmer]

It was my son's ticket. He was out on his jet ski (yes, I hate them) and someone in a kayak complained about him. I don't really know the particulars and told him to go to the JP.

[bare foot wader]

good luck....as much as I like both jet skiing and kayaking....my local kayak club are all massive whiners, I didn't make friends there lol...I can feel your son's frustration with this, hope he can get the ticket over turned

[porkpie]

Witness will have to attend court to give evidence if your son selects a trial option.

[BillM]

Too many people think they 'own' the lake.

[lookinforwalleye]

I would think if the jetski operator was operating in a careless or reckless manner that endangered the yakers safety then he has every right to make a claim...if in your opinion this is not the case then go to court.

 

I have seen many incidences over the years of power craft running without regard to canoes, swimmers etc.

[fishing n autograph]

If the witnesses don't show the ticket is quashed

[kickingfrog]

A ticket/ citation can be issued solely based on someone from the public making a compliant without the police witnessing the infraction?

 

I'm gonna be busy recording plate numbers on the highway this weekend.

[aplumma]

If the witnesses don't show the ticket is quashed

We have a winner.....

 

 

Art

[Pikeslayer]

Did he get a ticket for a violation or was he charged with an offence? Two very different things.

My understanding is someone can be charged with a criminal offence based on eye witness accounts (citizen arrest?) but not a moving violation (ie speeding).

[jimmer]

He got a ticket. The officer called him and he had to meet with the officer at which point he was given the ticket. The person took his registration number to report whatever the issue was. I'm not saying my kid is innocent or guilty, just wondering how this works. So like kickingfrog said, I am going to be taking the numbers of those bass boats that pass me at full throttle within 20 yards. That scares the heck out of me. I really won't, but just saying!

[fish_fishburn]

My numbers are just a blur when I go by.lol

[jimmer]

LOL. I have a high speed camera!

[fishing n autograph]

You can be charged with a provincial offence on witness information.

 

Things like the liquor license act, environmental protection act and the children an family services act are mostly enforced based on third party information.

 

I'm not sure about the acts surrounding boating because I'm not trained in that aspect.

Edited June 26, 2014 by FishnNAutographs

[bare foot wader]

I knew civilians could give tips to agencies like that and they investigate it sometimes....but they can actually give out a ticket based on a random persons word against another random person?

 

or what information is required exactly?

[fishing n autograph]

To be convicted the person has to provide evidence that proves the offence took place....

 

For example. A a motor vehicle collision the majority of the time police aren't present at the time of the event, so the info provided by the drivers and or witnesses has to so cover all of the main points of the offence (not the word I'm looking for, brain isn't working after a 14 hr shift)

 

And yes it's a wonderful system we have and it's always one persons word against another. That's basically what happens in the criminal offences too

[DanD]

Kind of a different thing here; but a cop after the fact and no witnesses charged my son with careless, solely due to the car Andy drives and the cops dislike of it.

What happened was a mechanical failure that caused the rear wheels to lock up when he was at highway speed. When the wheels locked it caused the car to spin out and it went into the ditch. When the cop got there (my son called them) he looks at the skid marks had a look under the hood and promptly wrote the ticket; not wanting to hear my son's account of what happened.

The car is a 1987 Mazda RX7 where we removed the rotary engine and installed a 2002 5.7 LS1 Corvette engine and trans. Once the cop saw that it was game over for my son. Andy's not a gear head that has racing on the brain; not on the streets anyway. He's 26 years old and an automotive engineer and he was on his way to Detroit for a meeting with a couple of GM engineers, when this happened.

He went to court and had the charges dismissed after he was able to prove to the court that it was a mechanical failure that caused the accident.

My point being if a cop can be this one sided because of personal feelings; how can a civilian's report, well after the fact be taken seriously?

 

Dan.

 

[Big Cliff]

I'm sure it must be really hard: Cop shows up, there is a car in the ditch, there are skid marks on the road (we see plenty of them around here, kids trying to see how much rubber they can burn off a set of tires). I'll bet they hear every excuse going, what is the right decision

[Andy]

Re; taking down licence plate numbers of speeders on the road and the boat registration numbers of careless boaters on the water. The issue becomes one of identity. How do you prove who was driving the car or boat at the time?

I have called in what I though were impaired drivers in the past, but unless they get stopped before they get home or to their destination, they walk because although I can give a statement about what I saw, I can't say who was driving.

That being said, there are a couple of offences where the owner can be charged regardless of who is driving. An example is passing a stopped school bus with it's lights and flashers activated. If the police cannot figure out, or prove, who was driving at the time, the registered owner can be ticketed. Ouch. Be careful who borrows your car.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Andy

[fishing n autograph]

In terms of believing a witness you have to speak with them and determine their credibility.

[fishing n autograph]

In terms of the vehicle in the ditch... I've seen it so many times where there's no evidence of a tire blowing or wheels locking and you get "car go crazy" response.

[Fish4Eyes]

He probably got the ticket because when the cop asked him to confirm what he did, he admitted it.

 

Me and a friend watched a guy back into my brand new car and when the police came, they said that is not enough evidence. Luckily the guy admitted to hitting me and was then deemed at fault.

[aplumma]

The ticket is not a cop judging the event as it being guilty or innocent. He is someone who has been trained to take the information and document it on the spot to be presented and then judged in a court of law. The discretionary part that a policeman has ,is there enough evidence of an issue/crime to warrant bringing it up to the Magistrate. So add one car long skid marks and a ditch means write a ticket. Your son presented evidence that it was a mechanical issue and was found innocent. Being a cop and doing your job by the book does not mean you have a grudge or hatred of something and you want to punish people. Yes there are some police that will do this but they are weeded out fairly quickly and disciplined/retired as the case fits.

 

 

Art