Knowing Your Options
In a previous blog post we covered what kinds of traffic tickets you can receive. These include but are not limited to:
- Blue Form 3
- Green Form 4
- Pink Part 1 Summons
- Yellow Part 3 Summons
All of these are different kinds of tickets and each have options. It’s important to know what those options are and how to proceed next.
Blue Form 3 (under Part 1 of the POA)
On a Form 3 ticket you are given three options on the back:
Option 1: Plea of guilty – If you choose this option then you are pleading guilty and agree to pay the full amount of the ticket. All you have to do is go to your nearest Provincial Offences court house and pay the full amount – or you can pay online, mail a cheque, or pay over the phone. It is very easy to give your money to the court. They will gladly take it.
Option 2: Go to the court office shown on the ticket and plead guilty but you can make submissions about the penalty – This means you go to the court and can ask for a lower fee or a longer time to pay. The court will not lower the fine for speeding tickets and they will not lower demerit points. If this is your reason for fighting your ticket, don’t bother.
Option 3: Ask for a trial date. You intend to fight your ticket in trial by pleading not guilty. You will receive a notice after you file that this is the option you choose which will give you further instructions – Option 3 seems like the most intimidating and complicated, but any reputable paralegal will offer you free advice to decide the right course of action. At Bulwark Legal Services we offer free consultations for any ticket you might receive.
Green Form 4 (under Part 1 of the POA)
Options 1 and 3 are the same on Form 4 as they are on Form 3. The only difference between the two forms is Option 2.
Option 2: Early Resolution, Meet with Prosecutor – You can request to meet with the prosecutor in person, or by telephone if you live more than 75km away, and discuss the possible resolution of that charge. This means you can meet with the prosecutor to possibly reduce the fine or change the charge. If you agree to the resolution, it can be pleaded on that day. If you do not agree, then it will be put to a trial date in the future.
Pink Summons (under Part 1 of the POA)
When you get a pink summons it means you must appear in court at the date given on the ticket. When you are in court there are a few things that can happen.
1.You may plead guilty to the offence – this means you plead guilty and accept any charges and fines.
2. You may set a date for trial – this means it will be adjourned and you will then appear in court at another date where the trial will proceed.
3. The trial may proceed at that time. It does say on the back of a pink summons that the trial may proceed on the date given on the ticket. However it is very rare that a trial will proceed on a first appearance in court.
If you do NOT appear, the court may issue a warrant for your arrest or the trial may proceed in your absence.
Yellow Summons (under Part 3 of the POA)
Yellow Summons are generally for more severe provincial offences and you are again required to appear in court. The back of the ticket reads that:
- A trial may proceed, or
- You or the prosecutor may ask the court to set the date of your trial
Generally, when you appear in court for the first time the trial will not proceed. What usually happens is that a date is set for a trial in the future where you can either plead guilty or fight your ticket.
There can be many required appearances to court. Luckily, you can hire a paralegal who can go to court on your behalf, so you don’t have to miss time from work or other scheduled commitments.
Every situation is different. Remember you have a right to fight your ticket. At Bulwark Legal Services we provide free consultations. You can go to our website and send us a copy of your ticket. We will help you decide the right course of action to take.
Stay tuned for part 3 of this series – Choosing to Fight Your Ticket
