How to fight driving with a suspended license Ontario – Part 5 – Didn’t Commit a Crime!!
- How do you fight a driving with a suspended license charge in Ontario?
- This article is part 5 of this very important topic.
- You should read the previous parts where I go through fighting driving with a suspended license under different circumstances.
- First. When you didn’t know you were suspended. Read it here:
- Second. When you were suspended because of a small fine. Read it here:
- Third. If you drove because of an emergency. Read it here:
- Fourth. Fighting the charge using the logic that you can’t afford to lose your license for 6-months. Read it here:
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- In this article, I will talk about what many clients instruct me to do when I let them know the penalties they are facing.
- And, why that is the WRONG way to handle your driving while suspended case in Ontario.
- First, let’s go through those penalties.
- On conviction, the law mandates that your drivers’ license will be suspended for 6-months. This suspension is not optional; it is mandatory.
- There are also fines that start at $1,000 and go to $5,000.
- If you have prior convictions for this charge, you may be placed on probation.
- And in some cases, you may go to jail for up to 6-months.
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- When I explain these penalties to my clients, one of the most common reactions that I get is — why are the penalties so harsh? I didn’t commit a crime!!
- And, many clients have instructed me to use that logic to fight their case.
- And that logic is as follows.
- Yes, I drove while I was suspended. Yes, that was wrong. But I didn’t commit a crime.
- And preventing me from driving for 6-months is such a harsh penalty compared to what I did that it’s just not fair.
- Please give me some other penalty but not that 6-month driving suspension.
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- That logic makes sense, but unfortunately, it won’t work when fighting your driving with a suspended license charge in Ontario.
- The logic behind the law is this.
- A car weighs about 4,000 pounds. It’s like a weapon on wheels. And that weapon can cause property damage, can put someone in a wheelchair. And can even kill someone.
- And lawmakers have a job to keep our society safe. And one of the ways to keep us safe is to ensure that all people driving these 4000-pound weapons on wheels are properly licensed.
- And, if you’re NOT prosperity licensed, well, the lawmakers are going to create such strong penalties that will make it “painful” for you to drive.
- And hopefully, these strong penalties will PREVENT you from driving while under suspension. In other words, these penalties will help keep society safe.
- So yes, the lawmakers know that the penalties are strong. But that is the way they want it.
- And, fighting this charge on the logic that the penalties are NOT fair — and are way out of proportion to what you did — will NOT work.
- You will lose your fight, and you will lose your driver’s license for 6-months. This is NOT the way to fight this charge.
- Yes, this is frustrating. But it’s the law.
