Street racing law ruled unconstitutional

[sigma_1966]

Street-Racing Law Ruled Unconstitutional, OPP Will Continue To Lay Charges
2009/09/09 | CityNews.ca Staff

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/cityne...to-lay-charges


A newly enacted provincial law that targets dangerous drivers has been ruled unconstitutional.

Ontario’s street racing and stunt driving legislation carries a possible prison sentence, but gives the accused limited grounds for defence, a Napanee judge found.

Ontario Court of Justice Judge G J Griffin made the decision Friday.

However, that doesn’t mean cops will stop handing out tickets.

“From what I understand of that legislation, it was just on that individual case,” OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford explained Wednesday on Breakfast Television.

“We’re still enforcing it.”

In a weekend safety blitz, the Ontario Provincial Police found over 7000 on our highways.

That included 133 impaired driving charges, 7193 speeding charges and 10 of the controversial stunt driving charges.

“Under the stunt driving and street racing legislation there are a lot of different definitions and one of them is going more than 50 kilometres an hour over the posted speed limit.

“That’s the portion of it that we mainly deal with on the highways, but there are others, like going through intersections,” Woodford added.


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Laying Down The Law
What does the new law against street racing and stunt driving call for? Here's the list:

The minimum fine is $2,000 while the maximum is $10,000 after a conviction, the highest penalty in Canada .
Police can issue an immediate seven-day driver's licence suspension and seven-day vehicle impoundment for street racing, participating in a driving contest or stunt driving.
Courts can impose a driver licence suspension of up to 10 years for a second conviction, if the second conviction occurs within 10 years of the first. For a first conviction, the maximum licence suspension period remains at 2 years.
The definition of a "driving stunt" includes driving a motor vehicle at 50 km/h or more above the posted speed limit.
The Act also bans driving a motor vehicle on a highway with a connected nitrous oxide system. Some street racers use nitrous oxide to enhance the acceleration capabilities of their vehicles.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dan.../demerit.shtml

[Supermans]

I was going to say..Canada? How do those Mountie's catch these cars going 50mph over?

[VenomZ302]

So the Canadian constitution has a "right to be stupid" amendment?

[camkid54]

I think youre forgetting that the law as it stands now presumes GUILT and its up to the discretion of the Police Officer whether youre over the 50k limit and if you were racing or stunting That just isnt right.....

[HeavyD]

You know, I think the laws are more lenient if you get behind the wheel totally drunk and kill someone. We finally get some good tough laws...

[rodimus prime]

I got a reckless in Virgina.

anything over 80 in VA is automatically wreckless. I have many issues with this.

A. tractor trailers going 78 mph....not reckless

B. Corvette designed for high speed driving going 81...reckless

Now besides that, when I was in court for my reckless 115 in an 65 which I never went over 90. 3/10ths of a mile (not including on ramp) elapsed by the time I got on the highway and was completely pulled over by the cop.

I got on it pretty hard to get up to about 90 and got to the left lane. Pretty much as soon as I got to the left lane I got pulled over.

The cop said he heard my car and sped up to see it. I didnt say anything of pretty much.

Well court comes and all the sudden he was pacing me at 115 and saw me the whole time. I have no doubt that he hit 115 from his original story to catch up to me, but he surely didnt pace me at 115. He straight up lied in court. I asked the judge how he could possible pace me and have me completely pulled over in 3/10ths of a mile.

Well state trooper anius (his honest to god name) is the reason that after being an MP for 10 years that I want nothing to do with being a cop when I get out.

End of story, the judge gaffed my questions off and gave me a $1800 fine and 6 month suspended license.

Before that there was a reckless on a motorcycle that resulted in an accident and the guy got half of what I got. That was my 2nd ticket in Va in 2 years. First was failure to obey a sign or something like that.

So my conclusion is that officer anius is a true POS and I hope bad things happen to him the rest of his life. Because if he lied in court against me (knowing Im a Marine and an MP) he will do it to anyone.

[canadian ss]

Murphy's law:
1- the harder you work, the less money you make
2- the harsher the crime, the more lienient the punishment. Abduct a girl for 18yrs, go home because your not a menace to society. Go alittle overspeed, book thrown at you. Figure that out?

[sigma_1966]

the mounties have a special breed of horses that have 6 legs. Their quick I tell you.

Originally Posted by Supermans

I was going to say..Canada? How do those Mountie's catch these cars going 50mph over?

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by rodimus prime

I got a reckless in Virgina.

anything over 80 in VA is automatically wreckless. I have many issues with this.

A. tractor trailers going 78 mph....not reckless

B. Corvette designed for high speed driving going 81...reckless

Now besides that, when I was in court for my reckless 115 in an 65 which I never went over 90. 3/10ths of a mile (not including on ramp) elapsed by the time I got on the highway and was completely pulled over by the cop.

I got on it pretty hard to get up to about 90 and got to the left lane. Pretty much as soon as I got to the left lane I got pulled over.

The cop said he heard my car and sped up to see it. I didnt say anything of pretty much.

Well court comes and all the sudden he was pacing me at 115 and saw me the whole time. I have no doubt that he hit 115 from his original story to catch up to me, but he surely didnt pace me at 115. He straight up lied in court. I asked the judge how he could possible pace me and have me completely pulled over in 3/10ths of a mile.

Well state trooper anius (his honest to god name) is the reason that after being an MP for 10 years that I want nothing to do with being a cop when I get out.

End of story, the judge gaffed my questions off and gave me a $1800 fine and 6 month suspended license.

Before that there was a reckless on a motorcycle that resulted in an accident and the guy got half of what I got. That was my 2nd ticket in Va in 2 years. First was failure to obey a sign or something like that.

So my conclusion is that officer anius is a true POS and I hope bad things happen to him the rest of his life. Because if he lied in court against me (knowing Im a Marine and an MP) he will do it to anyone.

Unfortunately the police officers know their word will always be viewed as truth in front of traffic court judges..It gets me mad to hear stories like this knowing they happen all the time.

[sigma_1966]

Ont. to appeal ruling making part of street racing law unconstitutional
Module body

1 hour, 51 minutes ago



By Romina Maurino, The Canadian Press

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TORONTO - An Ontario street racing law hailed as the country's harshest could be in limbo after a judge ruled a section of the legislation is unconstitutional because it can impose jail time even though the speeder can't defend against the charges.


Judge G.J. Griffin of the Ontario Court of Justice in Napanee, Ont., overturned the conviction of a woman clocked at more than 50 kilometres per hour over the limit because the way stunt driving is classified means once the offence is proven by facts, it cannot be defended.


Jane Raham, 62, was pulled over for speeding on her way back to Oakville, Ont., just west of Toronto, after driving to Kanata, Ont., to see her daughter who had just had twins.


Raham had testified she had sped up to pass a tractor trailer, which she had always been afraid of, when she was clocked going 131 kilometres an hour in an 80-kilometre zone.


"If one were to describe a stunt driver, the appellant would not immediately spring to mind," the judge wrote in his ruling last Friday.


The justice of the peace in her case, he said, "did not turn his mind to the appellant's testimony about why she was driving the way she was driving, and whether her evidence gave rise to a due diligence defence, as he proceeded on the basis that this was an absolute liability offence, although he called it a strict liability offence."


Street racers will still be charged under the stunt racing laws, but it will be now unconstitutional to convict someone on excessive speed alone unless the judge's ruling is successfully appealed.


Attorney General Chris Bentley said the province will appeal the decision and doesn't believe the law goes against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.


"From time to time you get decisions that are ones that you wish to appeal, and we'll be seeking leave to appeal this one," he said, calling the legislation an important public safety initiative.


"It's important that people understand that in the meantime, the provisions are still in effect and the police can still lay charges," Bentley said.


The stiffer fines and automatic suspensions of driver's licences were ushered in 2007 by former attorney general Michael Bryant, who has since left the government and is facing charges after a highly publicized incident that claimed the life of a bicycle courier.


Under the law, minimum fines for street racers are $2,000, with a maximum of $10,000, and up to six months in jail - a penalty Ontario said at the time was the highest in Canada for street racing.


The law requires no criminal intent when speeding is 50 kilometres per hour over the speed limit, which places it under the category of "absolutely liability" under law and essentially makes a conviction automatic.


Toronto lawyer James Morton said he was surprised by the decision and believes it will come as a blow to cases currently before the courts.


"There's really two options: it may be that the prosecution's going to say the decision is being appealed and they'd like to have the charge adjourned until after the appeal is dealt with," Morton said.


"That can increase delay and the charges may get thrown out because of delay. It's certainly going to lead to a lot of these cases being thrown out completely."


Like Bentley, Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Dave Woodford warned drivers not to take any liberties because of the ruling, noting police can still seize vehicles and licences.

In his ruling, Griffin didn't take issue with the vehicle seizures or licence suspensions but rather the jail time involved in a conviction.

"If they want to lose their vehicle and their licence for seven days, then go ahead," said Woodford.

"If they're caught driving and they don't have a licence, the second offence, now they're charged with driving under suspension."


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[CanadianCamaro]

Originally Posted by sigma_1966

In a weekend safety blitz, the Ontario Provincial Police found over 7000 on our highways.

Safety blitz or fund raising initiative. I've love to see the speeding ticket number broken down by severity.

Also, isn't it ironic that the guy to ushered in the stupid stunt driving law was the guy who had a bad day, got in a fight with a bicycle couier, hit him, dragged him for 2 blocks and killed him. He'll probably get a slap on the wrist.

[sigma_1966]

Theres a lot more to the story than that. i think once this comes out you will see theres a lot more to that story that what city tv broadcast

Originally Posted by CanadianCamaro

Also, isn't it ironic that the guy to ushered in the stupid stunt driving law was the guy who had a bad day, got in a fight with a bicycle couier, hit him, dragged him for 2 blocks and killed him. He'll probably get a slap on the wrist.

[Spiv]

Reading that latest release makes me think it's not the law entirely, but the judges. Every law is undefendable in theory once the facts have been proven. But the judges unwillingness to hear and take into account the women who was passing a truck (which no one likes to drive beside/behind) is what caused the problem.
True, the law should state some sort of def. for how long/distance travelled at 50+. But if I saw someone doing that, I probably wouldn't pull them over, because it's been a defence to speeding; passing other vehicles. If you're charged, it's up to the officer to prove your intent was to continue on speeding, and not simply pass the other vehicle.

I don't think the law dropped the ball on this, I think the OPP and the Judge did.

Also, police services don't see the ticket "revenue" as one poster here would think of it.
They use to, but because of that exact thinking is why they don't anymore. All that money goes to our law passing government.

[THUMPER20X]

Its Canada..... Its not supposed to make any sense. Speeding is speeding. Stunt driving is stunt driving. Racing is racing. They are all different and need different penalties not some bulk charge. But we live in a country thats approaching what 4 fed elections in 5 years???? Nothing gets done here because no one is in long enough to see their plans to fruition. Personally im getting fed up with the whole place. I was born here so I will rip and bitch all I want. The Canadian political and judicial system needs to be wiped and redone because its ineffective, incompetant and hopeless.