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Why It's Important To Plead Not Guilty

The response from Most People is that they Don't Feel They Have a Chance and They have been conditioned to believe they are guilty because 'an officer' gave them a ticket or there is a Photograph of the vehicle.

It's true! You have been conditioned to believe those things. Here's how the psychology of the whole system works;

1. The ticket is designed to make it easy for you to Just Pay It. The fine is already set out on the ticket so you don't have to stress about how much you will have to pay. Most jurisdictions give you 4-6 weeks before you have to deal with the ticket. (some longer) This gives you time to cool down from the emotion of getting the ticket and to scrape together some extra cash.

   They also don't want you coming in shortly after receiving the ticket full of emotion and pleading Not Guilty. They use an excuse that it takes several weeks to forward the information from the Police to the Courts. In reality the paper could be forwarded in a week. With proper computer set up it could be scanned in faster while the paper is in transit.

2. The court won't believe what you have to say, the Officers word is all they will listen to so what's the point of going through any inconvenience just to lose it in court and pay the same fine. This is an easy trap to fall into, however it is a huge misconception. Whereas the high majority of Officers are very ethical, there are those who are not and the Court becomes wise to them as well. Also Officers, believe it or not, are Humans who do make mistakes. I made several over the years when either writing notes or on the Information portion of the Ticket. Sometimes you catch them however most times you don't.

   It's these mistakes that can stay the ticket or increase the credibility of your testimony. If the mistake is of a certain nature then you could get the charge stayed, sometimes without even having to go to court. Learning to properly cross examine the Officer can also pay off. Many Officers never get challenged on the stand regarding their testimony because most people go to Court not even realizing they can ask them Questions. When the time comes they say nothing. Or they feel intimidated to ask the Officer questions. Trust me, you are not going to offend the Officer by questioning them and most could Care Less if you Win Your Case. To them it's just a ticket (unless you were a jerk!) and depending on whether they are on duty or off, will determine how fast they want to get out of there.

   This is why it's important to be polite and quiet when you are pulled over. If you are rude or condescending they will make sure they make plenty of Notes and they Will Hope You Go To Court!

3. You can't argue against a Photo, Right? Again the perception they want to create is, we have this wonderful system that is highly accurate and it doesn't matter if it was you driving, you own the car so you are responsible. This mis-conception has generated hundreds of Millions of Dollars world wide in profits for camera companies who end up making more then any other party involved in the Ticket Process. They bank on the technical intimidation coupled with the fact that there are no demerits to the tickets to cause you to just give in and pay it.

   They know that you are not going to pay someone to represent you because more often then not the cost of having someone deal with it for you is more then the cost of the tickets. The cost is still low enough, that even if you don't have a lot of money, it is still easier to for you to work extra shifts, borrow the money or use a credit card as opposed to taking it to Court.

4. They know there is no Resource available to You to Teach You how to properly deal with your ticket. Crown attorney's chuckle when you come in with information or questions you downloaded from the internet that have no relevance in Canadian Courts. You look foolish and then when you get on the stand they destroy your case because you had no idea what they were going to ask you!

Just because it may appear inconvenient to go to court, it really isn't. Your court date on average is several months in the future which gives you plenty of time to prepare. More often then not you can arrange a date and time that will work with your schedule.

Arrange to have a copy of the complete case the Crown has against you so you can analyze the data and then make an educated decision on your final plea. You can change your plea to Guilty with an explanation on your Court Date and in some circumstances it may be your best option for success.

You will now have a Reference and Information Resource available to you at a cost that makes it not only an Option, it makes it a necessity. When you have the knowledge you need then you can walk into court with real confidence and achieve Success.

You have more Credibility in Court then you think, especially if you have a clean or near clean driving history.

Here's A Great Example Why You Should Plead Not Guilty.

I received a call the other day from a Friend I hadn't talked to in a few years. He had heard about what I was doing and called for some advice. His court date was only a few days away and he wasn't sure how he should proceed. I went over his options with him. He was one of Thousands that were nailed in Winnipeg at a road construction zone. His speed at the time of the photo was 78 in what was now a 60 zone as opposed to the 80 zone he was traveling in. Like so many of the tickets issued, there were no workers around and if there were, they were no where close to the roadway.

I followed up with him on Monday Night to see how things went. He was quite happy as he managed to have the charge stayed by pointing out an issue with the diagram the Commissionaire (Mobile Radar Operator) had attached to the Notes. He pointed it out to The Crown Attorney before the proceeding and the Crown agreed and stayed the charge.

I pointed out to him that I wondered How Many Other People with the Same Circumstances Just paid Their Ticket instead of Pleading Not Guiltyand viewing the case against them.

I am getting a copy of the notes in Question and they will be available for view to our members as soon as our member site is up and running. They will act as a great example of how to examine the 'Evidence' against you and look for mistakes.

Larry Stefanuik
trafficticketguru.com

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