Month: June 2018

Beat your speeding ticket with an Expert Witness

Posted on by ADMIN

In Ontario, speeding tickets are very hard to beat because the caselaw basically allows the Justice of the Peace and the Judge to simply accept what the officer says as fact. If the officer says you were speeding, then it must be true! If the officer says they were trained on the Radar or Lidar device, then it must be true! If the officer says the device was working properly at the time, then it must be true! Of course we know that just because the officer believes the Radar or Lidar was working properly, does not mean it actually was. With an expert witness, you can then challenge the credibility of the officers statements and bring evidence that shows the device may not have been accurate at the time it was used.

You should also read the following post on why you need an Expert Witness: Caselaw regarding the need for an Expert Witness

Caselaw regarding the need for an Expert Witness for Speeding Trials

Posted on by ADMIN

This is not legal advice and is for informational purposes only.

The purpose of an expert witness is to bring unbiased information to the court so the Justice of the Peace or Judge can make a better informed decision. An expert witness possesses special knowledge and experience going beyond that of the trier of fact. (see R. v. Beland, [1987] 2 S.C.R. 398, at paragraph 16).

In Ontario, the courts simply take at face value the officers statement that they are a qualified radar/lidar operator and that they believe the device was working properly at the time, and therefore the speed reading was correct. Even cross-examination of the officer on these points is mostly useless because the court will say “there is no statuatory requirement as to what a qualified operator is, so they say they were trained, so it must be true, and they say it was working properly, so it must be true”.

The only way to you can beat it, is for the defence to put their own expert on the stand who can explain why the device has a very good chance of NOT being accurate (since they are NEVER calibrated in Ontario).
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What to do when pulled over by police in Ontario or Canada

Posted on by ADMIN

This is not legal advice and is for informational purposes only.

DRIVING A VEHICLE IN CANADA:
When you are detained by police (pulled over at the side of the road, DUI/RIDE checkpoint, etc), section 10(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires them to tell you why. So whenever you are stopped, and they come to your vehicle window, immediately ask them:

* Why did you stop me?
* Am I being detained?

DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS:
Be nice and be polite (they have guns), but remember you do not have to answer any questions. Always answer “I CHOOSE NOT TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, THANK YOU” or “I DO NOT WISH TO MAKE A STATEMENT, THANK YOU” to everything they ask you. This is your fundamental right to be free from self-incrimination and therefore not provide police with evidence that may be used against you. Everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Also remember that you should never lie to police. It much better to say “no comment” than to lie.
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R vs Jordan- Right to a Speedy Trial- Charter Section 11b Argument

Posted on by ADMIN

This is not legal advice and is for informational purposes only.

In Ontario, your right to a speedy trial used to kick in after 10 to 12 months, but with the Jordan decision, it was (sort of) raised to 18 months.

The following are my thoughts and comments on the R v Jordan 2016 SCC 27, [2016] 1 SCR 631 decision regarding the Right to a Speedy Trial under Charter Section 11b.

You can find it here if you want to read it yourself:
https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-c … 7/index.do
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Speeding in Ontario

Posted on by ADMIN

WHAT TO DO WHEN PULLED OVER BY POLICE FOR SPEEDING IN ONTARIO OR ANYWHERE IN CANADA

This is not legal advice and is for informational purposes only.
Click here to download PDF version.

DRIVING A VEHICLE IN CANADA:

When you are detained by police (pulled over at the side of the road, RIDE checkpoint, etc), section 10(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires them to tell you why. So whenever you are stopped, and they come to your vehicle window, immediately ask them:

  • Why did you stop me?
  • Am I being detained?

DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS:

Be nice and be polite (they have guns), but remember you do not have to answer any questions. Always answer “I CHOOSE NOT TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, THANK YOU” or “I DO NOT WISH TO MAKE A STATEMENT, THANK YOU” to everything they ask you. This is your fundamental right to be free from self-incrimination and therefore not provide police with evidence that may be used against you. Everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

EXCEPTIONS:

In Ontario, there are some exceptions when you MUST give them information:

  • When you are doing something that requires a license (like hunting or driving) then you MUST produce that license when asked for it. When driving you must also produce your registration and insurance as well, if asked. But you still do NOT have to answer any other questions and do NOT have to give them any other information.
  • When being charged with an offence then you MUST identify yourself by giving them your Name, Address and Date of Birth. But you still do NOT have to answer any other questions and do NOT have to give them any other information.
  • If you are involved in an accident you may be required to report it and/or give a statement about it.

NEVER VOLUNTEER ANY INFORMATION:

Any information you are compelled to give them (like the exceptions above), is not admissible in court as long as you can prove that you did not volunteer it. Therefore it is imperative that you never volunteer any information. Always wait for them to ask for it. This includes your name, address, date of birth, drivers license, registration, insurance and/or any statements they ask you to make. The worst possible thing you can do is start giving them information they did not ask for. When they ask you for something, ask them back:

  • Am I required to give that to you?
  • Can I be charged if I do not provide that to you?

WHAT TO SAY BEFORE YOU GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION OR STATEMENTS:

Before you give any information to them, make sure you say:

  • I am only giving this information to you because I am required to do it, and it is NOT voluntary.

If you can prove in court that you only gave them information that you were compelled to give them, and that you did not volunteer any of it, then this becomes inadmissible evidence and they can not use any of it to convict you.

OTHER THINGS TO SAY BEFORE GIVING THEM LICENSE, INSURANCE AND REGISTRATION:

  • Drivers License is for proof of competency only, and is not for identification purposes.
  • Registration is for proof vehicle is registered only, and is not for identification purposes.
  • Insurance is for proof vehicle is insured only, and is not for identification purposes.

SEARCH YOUR VEHICLE:

  • You do not have to let them search your vehicle or your trunk. They need a warrant to do this.

PASSENGERS IN VEHICLE

  • Passengers in your vehicle do not have to identify themselves UNLESS they are being charged with an offence (see Exception (2) above).
  • Passengers in your vehicle do not need to answer any questions either. Best answer is again “I CHOOSE NOT TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, THANK YOU” or “I DO NOT WISH TO MAKE A STATEMENT, THANK YOU” to everything.

COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS YOU SHOULD GIVE

Questions:

– Have you been drinking?

– Do you know why I stopped you?

– Why were you driving so fast?

– In a hurry?

– Where are you going?

– How are you today?

– Why is your car so loud?

– Are you trying to hide something?

– Do you have a gun/drugs/alcohol in the vehicle?

– What’s in your trunk?

– Is that yours [pointing to something in the vehicle]?

Answer these with:

I CHOOSE NOT TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, THANK YOU.
I DO NOT WISH TO MAKE A STATEMENT, THANK YOU.

Questions:

– Can I see what’s in your trunk?

– Open your trunk please!

– Can I see what’s in your glove box?

– Open your glove box please!

– I need to search your vehicle!

Answer these with:

DO YOU HAVE A WARRANT? IF NOT, THEN NO!


REFERENCES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Qc3OnwCOY

http://www.criminaltriallawyers.ca/?q=know-your-rights

http://www.hosseinilaw.com/talking-to-the-police/

http://robichaudlaw.ca/right-to-silence-oickle-mccrimmon-sinclair

http://www.trafficticketparalegal.com/statements-snatching-defeat-jaws-victory/
[NOTE: Website appears to be gone, try searching https://web.archive.org/ to see if you can find copy of webpage]

http://canadian-lawyers.ca/Understand-Your-Legal-Issue/Personal-Injury/Motor-Vehicle-Accidents/Reporting-A-Motor-Vehicle-Accident.html
[NOTE: Website appears to be gone, try searching https://web.archive.org/ to see if you can find copy of webpage]

 

Summary

Pulled over by police or stopped at RIDE checkpoint:

  • Why did you stop me?
  • Am I being detained?

Best answers to give:

  • I choose not to answer any questions, thank you.
  • I do not wish to make a statement, thank you.

Never volunteer any information and Never answer any questions:

  • Am I required to give that to you?
  • Am I required to answer that question?
  • Can I be charged if I do not provide that to you?

What to say before you give them any information or statements:

  • I am only giving this information to you because I am required to do it, and it is NOT voluntary.

Other things to say before giving them license, insurance and registration:

  • Drivers License is for proof of competency only, and is not for identification purposes.
  • Registration is for proof vehicle is registered only, and is not for identification purposes.
  • Insurance is for proof vehicle is insured only, and is not for identification purposes.

 

Click here to download PDF version.
This is not legal advice and is for informational purposes only.

Thunderbird logging connection issues for POP3 IMAP and SMTP

Posted on by ADMIN

I came across an issue where Thunderbird appears to be connecting and using PLAIN TEXT authentication, leaving username and password visible, even though I have Authentication set it to SSL/TLS or STARTTLS.

In order to troubleshoot this issue, I found the following article:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/MailNews:Logging

Following the instructions in that article did NOT work!

It says you are supposed to use MOZ_LOG and MOZ_LOG_FILE as of April 2017 however these variables did not work even though it is June 2018. I had to use the old variable names of NSPR_LOG_MODULES and NSPR_LOG_FILE.

The following is the batch file (for Windows 10) that I used and was able to get a log for troubleshooting the authentication and connection to my POP3 and SMTP servers:

set NSPR_LOG_MODULES=negotiateauth:5,POP3:5,SMTP:5,timestamp
set NSPR_LOG_FILE=%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\tb-connect.log
"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Thunderbird\thunderbird.exe"

Using this log I was able to identify that it was indeed using PLAIN TEXT authentication. I am still in the process of trying to determine if this is a Thunderbird bug or a server side bug and will report back with further details when I have them.

I have posted a Bug Report on Thunderbird site in order to track the issue:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1467835