Benjamin Jacobs, was charged with speeding and failure to surrender insurance card. His DOB is February 20, 1970. Prior to retaining you, Benjamin requested an Early Resolution Meeting with the Prosecutor and he received notice that it was scheduled for Friday, September 9, 2022 at 1:30pm in courtroom T3 at 1530 Markham Rd., Toronto, ON

Initial Meeting With Client

You were retained by Benjamin on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 (contact information for Benjamin = 416-675-6622; b..s@fake_email.com). At this meeting he advised you that he would not be able to attend the scheduled Early Resolution Meeting and asked if you could appear on his behalf. You told him that you were planning to go golfing on Friday you advised him that you would not be able to attend the meeting. Instead, you completed aRequest to Reschedule/Postpone an Early Resolution Meeting form (attached ~ form for each offence based on the information that has taken place so far in the scenario) and you submitted it on Thursday afternoon.

At your initial meeting, Benjamin advised you that he noticed quite a few errors on the tickets and advised that neither one was signed by the Officer. You told him that Provincial Offences Court is a waste of time and that "everything gets amended anyway, so it's not even worth reviewing the charging document".

Early Resolution Meeting

The Early Resolution Meeting was re-scheduled to Monday, October 3, 2022.Benjamin was not able to attend with you, but you guaranteed him that you would get the "paper charge" withdrawn and the speeding charge reduced so there would be no demerit points.

As soon as you met with the Prosecutor you told her that there were several errors on the tickets, told her not to waste any more of your time and insisted that both charges be withdrawn. She told you that she would be willing to withdraw the insurance charge in exchange for a guilty plea on the speeding charge, but that she was not willing to reduce the speeding charge. She further indicated that if you didn't want to accept her offer you would be entitled to request a court date for both matters. You became quite annoyed with the Prosecutor because you were certain that she had the discretion to reduce the speed, but that she must be intimidated by your knowledge and skill. You told the Prosecutor that you and your client pay her salary though taxes and therefore, she needs to do her job properly. You threatened to walk out of the Early Resolution Room and to take these matters to court. You were quite surprised when she handed you two yellow forms and ushered you out of her office. When you looked at the forms you realized they were Notice of Intention to Appear forms

Trial Date #1

You were dealing with several matters in court on Monday, December 12, 2022. At the end of the court tier, the Justice went through the "deemed not to wish to dispute" matters. You heard "Benjamin Jacobs" named as a Defendant who failed to appear on a speeding charge and was convicted in his absence. You also heard the Justice indicate that the insurance charge would be quashed for Benjamin Jacobs.

You recognized that name as that of one of your clients and then realized that your business had become so busy that you had forgotten all about his court date.

Reopening

Later that same day, you asked Mr. Jacobs to come to your office and you told him the news.Luckily, he was understanding when you told him that he would have to request a reopening. Form 102and have it sworn by the Commissioner of Oaths, Chris Commissioner, who has an office in your building.

Trial Date #2

The reopening was granted and a trial date was scheduled for Monday, January 2, 2023. Mr. Jacobs was convicted of speeding 82km/hr in a 60km/hr zone at trial. The Justice of the Peace calculated the fine using the criteria set out in s. 128(14) of the Highway Traffic Act. However, the Justice did not specify how long Mr. Jacobs has to pay it.

Extension of Time

One week later, Mr. Jacobs came into your office and told you that he established quite a debt while he was on strike from his job as a bus driver and that he wouldn't be able to pay any of the fine until he gets his first full pay cheque on Friday, February 10, 2023.As such, you recommended a motion for extension of time to pay fine. Form 125.

As he was leaving your office, you told him that it is more important that he pays your bill than the fine because the court can't do anything to enforce payment, and you threatened to have a collection agency after him right away.

Part A:Forms

1. Request to Reschedule/Postpone an Early Resolution Meeting

2. Notice of Intention to Appear

3. Affidavit in Support of a Request for Reopening (Form 102)

4. Motion for Extension of Time to Pay Fine (Form 125)

Note: you have also been provided with Form 126 which is typically copied on to the back of Form 125. I want you to be aware of the contents, but it is for court staff to fill out, not paralegals.

Part B: Scenario Questions

1. Provide a list of the errors on face of the each of the Offence Notices. For each error, explain how you should handle it in court (as the paralegal).

2. At Trial Date #1 one for the charges was quashed and the other charge resulted in a conviction. Explain how this is possible.

3. You incorrectly told your client that the court couldn't do anything to enforce payment. Please cite relevant sections of the POA to explain what the court can do to enforce payment of the fine.

4. Please review this scenario and provide a discussion of any errors that you made as a paralegal in handling this matter and in dealing with your client. Please cite specific rules and guidelines from the Paralegal Rules of Conduct, where appropriate.

5. About the speeding charge:

a) Which Act deals with this offence? Which section number?

b) Is it a mens rea, strict liability or absolute liability offence? Who has the burden of proof? What is the standard of proof?

c) What must the prosecution prove in order to get a conviction? What are the essential elements of the offence?

d) What are the penalties associated with this offence? Include set fines (if applicable) and fines upon conviction.

e) Is it appropriate for someone to be charged under Part I or Part III? Why?

f) What constitutes proper service for this offence?

g) Are there demerit points associated with this charge? If so, how many points?

h) Is there a related/included offence (e.g., to negotiate a reduced charge)?