Getting a ticket dropped

I've never gone to get a ticket dropped so I was hoping someone could help me out.

Got pulled over last night because one of my licence plate bulbs was out. I got a $110 ticket but cop said if I took it to court house it should be dropped, pending I prove its fixed.

Here's my question. How do I prove its fixed? Do I need a work order from a shop showing they fixed it or can I just have them come look at my car?
The problem was just a loose bulb so I fixed it myself.

that's kind of horse shit, cuz the amount of time you are going to spend on this is worth more them the fine itself; Fix-it-Tickets are lame.

anyway.... "Early resolution at first attendance" is what you want to do.
read the bottom of this website, http://www.toronto.ca/court_services/services.htm

you can tell the prosecutor that the bulb was simply loose and you fixed it yourself, or you can go to Canadian Tire buy that bulb, and bring the receipt to the prosecutor (make sure you tell him it burned out, and you didn't know about it), makes sure if you are going to buy it you do it asap as to have the earliest possible date on the receipt....you can always return the bulb back and get you money after.

take a pic and go shoe the judge. make sure the pic had the date of when you took it. should get dropped

Does the ticket reference HTA 62(19)? It should, if it doesnt, its incorrect.

I would suggest the following, as soon as reasonably possible, because the longer you take to get this done, the weaker your case will hold up in court (if you decide to go that route).

Have a mechanic look at the rears plates and write down that it complies with HTA 62(19). You can either ask for a vehicle certification (which costs money) or ask for a signed letter (with a letter head preferred).

In addition it wouldn't hurt to loosen the bulb again and take a picture with one bulb and both to prove that your plate was still visible.

It is also worth mentioning that your rear plate lights should be white.

That is all the advice I can offer, goodluck.

since no one bothered to read the website..... YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE COURT DATE TO RESOLVE YOUR TICKET.

Early resolution at first attendance
If you receive an Offence Notice (commonly called a "ticket") for an offence indicated on the chart below other than parking, stopping or standing of a vehicle, you may have a First Attendance meeting with a prosecutor. At this meeting you can discuss the charge(s) on the ticket(s) and possibly reach a satisfactory result without a trial.

If your only charge is failing to surrender your driver's licence, permit or insurance card and you bring proof that you had the valid document(s) at the time of the offence the prosecutor may withdraw the charge.

If you have been charged with another offence, you may enter into a plea negotiation and complete the process then instead of going to trial.

If your concern is over the penalty, you can discuss your concerns with the prosecutor and perhaps reach an agreement for a joint submission, whereby you and the prosecutor agree on an appropriate penalty for recommendation to the Justice of the Peace. It will be up to the Justice of the Peace whether to accept the recommendation.

First attendance meetings are available by appointment only and must be requested in person at the court office address indicated on the back of your ticket. Court rulings require that you must file a trial request at the same time you request a first attendance meeting. If the first attendance meeting is not successful, then a trial will automatically be set.

on my court date notice, it says to arrive 15min early to meet with the prosecutor, is that the same sorta thing?

I got told to bring pictures of my plates (obstructed (tinted) plates ticket) and my lisence (failure to surrender lisence ticket) and it will all get thrown out (according to the cop)

phuknrht wrote:on my court date notice, it says to arrive 15min early to meet with the prosecutor, is that the same sorta thing?

I got told to bring pictures of my plates (obstructed (tinted) plates ticket) and my lisence (failure to surrender lisence ticket) and it will all get thrown out (according to the cop)

it says to request it when you go to book your trial. You can go in and see if you can still request a "first attendance" meeting, or just wait for the trial, if it in Toronto I think the wait time are like 8-12 month for a trial...

"First attendance meetings are available by appointment only and must be requested in person at the court office address indicated on the back of your ticket. Court rulings require that you must file a trial request at the same time you request a first attendance meeting. If the first attendance meeting is not successful, then a trial will automatically be set. "

take a pic of the bulb working, i got a ticket for not having my plate on the front, i took a pic of it on, and told the judge someone stole my screws and i was on my way to fix it when i got pulled over and my car is outside right now if you want to see it. judge said ok and threw it out

I got a ticket earlier this year, still waiting on a court date.
Ticket said 'Improper headlights' while he pulled me over for having 'green' fog-lights. They're yellow. I snapped a few pics the following day, they look yellow enough to me, but as with the police, it's all based on opinions. Since I didn't know about that first attendance meeting, and I'm assuming it's too late to go and try to schedule one, would I be good with a picture? Might just play it safe and buy some new bulbs. They're not exactly expensive anyway. Just hoping they don't say 'headlights on the tickets, let's see your car ... wait, those headlights don't look stock!'
Preston, I'll let you know how my ticket goes. Getting pulled over for having one plate bulb out is just silly, let alone writing you a ticket for that.

how it work is, (you can't do it if you mail in your trial request) when you go in person to file for a trial request you ask to meet the prosecutor, they book you and appointment, at the same time you file for trail. When you meet him, if you both agree to a term then the trial request is scrapped and you walk away happy, if you can not come to terms with him then they go forward and they process your trial request and you get a date for court.

If you did not do that and don't feel like waiting for a year, call, or go visit them in person and ask them if you can still meet with the prosecutor; tell them you did not know about it. In most cases they should be able to comply with you, because it saves them money if people resolve it now, then add to the already overcrowded and over booked court rooms.

Cools, I'll do that next week if I haven't gotten a court date yet.
How do you know all this? You're very knowledgeable!

Thanks everyone. I went to walmart last night and bought bulbs then took time stamped pictures showing they are working.

Yuriy I read the link you posted last night and I think that's what I'll do. Going to go in Wednesday morning to try and schedule an appointment.

Juice wrote:Cools, I'll do that next week if I haven't gotten a court date yet.
How do you know all this? You're very knowledgeable!

to be honest I just looked it all up on the internetz for you guys

OMG! im gnna do this, ugh i have a speeding ticket of 20 over, n the cop told me to go to court and he'll fix it. thing is my court date is May3rd, and i dont wanna go to court cuz i get kinda nervous . im gnna check this out for sure.

So I went in this morning at 9:25am to get a first attendance meeting. I filled out a form and waited a few minutes to talk to a prosecutor.

He called my name and asked if I had a receipt to show it was fixed. I showed him the receipt of the $4 lights I bought, he barely glanced at it and said "ok, I'll drop the ticket". I walked out at 9:35am with the $110 still in my bank.

^Good stuff, thanks to Yuriy for posting this clearly helpful info.

hmmm, how would people suggest i prove I had my lisence at the time i was pulled over and had forgotten my wallet at home...

Pretty sure you just show up with it because the issued date would be long before your ticket date...? I would think as long as it was issued prior to the ticket date youre golden

phuknrht wrote:hmmm, how would people suggest i prove I had my lisence at the time i was pulled over and had forgotten my wallet at home...

Usually the cop gives you a ticked and tells you you have 24 or 48 hours to stop by the police station and show your license, and they drop it, what exactly did the cop tell you, and what did he write on your ticket?
My friends sister always forgets her wallet (prolly cuz she doesn't wanna pay when she goes out ), and she had to do that on a few occasions.

section 62(19) of the HTA does NOT make a reference to the number of bulbs you need to illuminate your plate, so long as it's a white light, and it illuminates the numbers on the plate.

turn on your lights, take a picture AT NIGHT with only the one bulb working. If you can clearly read the numbers take the picture in with you when you speak to the prosecutor and tell them that it does not state in the HTA the number of bulbs and that you're plate is clearly visible *****FROM 150 METERS OR LESS*****, like the HTA states.

preston_nfs wrote:So I went in this morning at 9:25am to get a first attendance meeting. I filled out a form and waited a few minutes to talk to a prosecutor.

He called my name and asked if I had a receipt to show it was fixed. I showed him the receipt of the $4 lights I bought, he barely glanced at it and said "ok, I'll drop the ticket". I walked out at 9:35am with the $110 still in my bank.

I guess my previous post would have been helpful had I replied before you went in. lmao my bad

Haha no worries. Easier to just show them it was fixed rather than put up a fight.

Glad to hear it worked out.

the cop told me to go in before the 15days was up, get a court date, bring pics of my lisence plates with out tinted covers and my lisence and theyd drop the charges, said nothing of the 24/48hrs.. he pretty much explained how to get the tickets dropped before giving them too me ...

^Had that happen, more than once...