Re: Highway Traffic Act (Ontario), officer's discretion, etc

owner

From:	owner
Subject:	Re: Highway Traffic Act (Ontario), officer's discretion, etc
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 03:08:01 -0500

Well, I've done a bit of research, but it sure is hard to come by. Is
there any other info worth persuing, other than what is listed below?

Disclosure request:

1) Copies of all reports from all witnesses (for obvious reasons)
2) Copy of both sides of the issued ticket (for obvious reasons)
3) Investigating Officer's notes, diagrams, etc. (for obvious reasons)
4) List of Investigating Officer's Highway Traffic Act charges laid in
past 6 months (to see if there is a bias, a "catch-all" laziness in
charging, or some other determinable pattern?)
5) All memos and/or directives from, or (from crown attonerys? Attorney
General?) to the police force in question, pertaining to guidance in
officer's discretion in/with Highw Traffic Act charges
6) Officer's record....ie, how long has he been working traffic detail?
How much experience does he have?

Other information to get:

1) Other driver's driving record (perhaps she has a habit of slapping on
her brakes just as she is about to enter an intersection, after she has
cleared the stop sign)
2) Any city report on that particular intersection, ie., poor design. I
personally have witnessed literally at least one accident every 2 weeks.
3) What are the elements to proving a Careless Driving charge. I mean,
what exactly does "without due care and attention or without reasonable
consideration for other persons" mean, in legal terms?

Other info to consider:

There is some debate that the driver is compelled to give a statement,
according to the HTA, but that may violate his charter right (Section
7?) to not incriminate himself.

So then the question is, if his statement cannot be used against him
(being optimistic), what happens when the officer testifies, and/or the
other driver testifies? What is the realistic impact of not having his
statement in court? Does it really matter, if both the officer and other
driver show up?

What is considered Prima Facie (forgive my spelling if it is not
correct) for this scenario?