Toronto denies trials, wrongfully convicts thousands: Paralegals
Paralegals say city isn't addressing clerical error that's convicting clients who've plead not guilty to provincial offence tickets
Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date:May 10, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 2 minute read • 44 Comments
A real sure sign of spring as Toronto 12-div. Pc. Dave Burnell does radar on Jane St. at Weston Rd. in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday April 12, 2015. Dave Thomas/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency
A real sure sign of spring as Toronto 12-div. Pc. Dave Burnell does radar on Jane St. at Weston Rd. in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday April 12, 2015. Dave Thomas/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency
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Pay up, or else.
That’s what Luigi faced last week upon opening a letter from the City of Toronto demanding he make good on an unpaid speeding fine stemming from a questionable traffic stop in September.
“Imagine getting a ticket while I’m not even on the gas,” he insisted, explaining he was pulled over in Scarborough while decelerating into a lower-speed limit zone on Hwy. 2.
What’s even more troubling is that he was convicted at all.
Luigi, who asked the Toronto Sun to not disclose his surname, pleaded not guilty and hired a Toronto paralegal firm to help fight the ticket.
It’s a story being played out across the city, the Sun has learned, with reports of hundreds, possibly thousands, of people being summarily convicted of provincial offences after they pleaded not guilty to the alleged infractions — all without ever seeing the inside of a courtroom.
Some are finding themselves dinged with demerit points, or even unknowingly driving while suspended — often finding out during traffic stops.
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“It’s just crazy,” said Philip Alexiu, president of paralegal firm Legal Action Paralegal Services, who added he and colleagues across the city are being inundated with angry calls from wrongfully convicted clients.
“We have to notify the court that we’d filed the ticket, and they can administratively reopen the case, but that’s very slow.”
With the pandemic closing courtrooms and government offices, Toronto joined other jurisdictions in allowing offenders to challenge tickets via email.
At the heart of the problem, say paralegals, are months of ongoing clerical issues within the City of Toronto, which is responsible for adjudicating local provincial offences.
“The clerk who processes the convictions is working faster than the clerk who processes requests for trials,” said Frank Alfano, managing partner of We Defend You legal services.
“Their answer to that was ‘Well, we just won’t suspend people’s licence for non-payment of fines.'”
The problem is when the convictions are forwarded to the province, it levies mandatory demerit points and suspensions for infractions such as distracted driving.
“Not only are they losing their licences, I’ve had one client who lost their job because he couldn’t get to work,” Alexiu said, adding the city isn’t correcting issues fast enough to prevent them from going to the province.
“I’ve got guys who can’t even get insurance now because they have convictions.”
Alfano said the city isn’t working fast enough to solve the problem.
“This was a problem back in January,” he said. “We’re in May, and they’ve still done nothing.”
A response from the City of Toronto didn’t arrive by press time.
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume
torontosun.com
Paralegals say city isn't addressing clerical error that's convicting clients who've plead not guilty to provincial offence tickets
Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date:May 10, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 2 minute read • 44 Comments
A real sure sign of spring as Toronto 12-div. Pc. Dave Burnell does radar on Jane St. at Weston Rd. in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday April 12, 2015. Dave Thomas/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency
A real sure sign of spring as Toronto 12-div. Pc. Dave Burnell does radar on Jane St. at Weston Rd. in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday April 12, 2015. Dave Thomas/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency
Article content
Pay up, or else.
That’s what Luigi faced last week upon opening a letter from the City of Toronto demanding he make good on an unpaid speeding fine stemming from a questionable traffic stop in September.
“Imagine getting a ticket while I’m not even on the gas,” he insisted, explaining he was pulled over in Scarborough while decelerating into a lower-speed limit zone on Hwy. 2.
What’s even more troubling is that he was convicted at all.
Luigi, who asked the Toronto Sun to not disclose his surname, pleaded not guilty and hired a Toronto paralegal firm to help fight the ticket.
It’s a story being played out across the city, the Sun has learned, with reports of hundreds, possibly thousands, of people being summarily convicted of provincial offences after they pleaded not guilty to the alleged infractions — all without ever seeing the inside of a courtroom.
Some are finding themselves dinged with demerit points, or even unknowingly driving while suspended — often finding out during traffic stops.
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
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“It’s just crazy,” said Philip Alexiu, president of paralegal firm Legal Action Paralegal Services, who added he and colleagues across the city are being inundated with angry calls from wrongfully convicted clients.
“We have to notify the court that we’d filed the ticket, and they can administratively reopen the case, but that’s very slow.”
With the pandemic closing courtrooms and government offices, Toronto joined other jurisdictions in allowing offenders to challenge tickets via email.
At the heart of the problem, say paralegals, are months of ongoing clerical issues within the City of Toronto, which is responsible for adjudicating local provincial offences.
“The clerk who processes the convictions is working faster than the clerk who processes requests for trials,” said Frank Alfano, managing partner of We Defend You legal services.
“Their answer to that was ‘Well, we just won’t suspend people’s licence for non-payment of fines.'”
The problem is when the convictions are forwarded to the province, it levies mandatory demerit points and suspensions for infractions such as distracted driving.
“Not only are they losing their licences, I’ve had one client who lost their job because he couldn’t get to work,” Alexiu said, adding the city isn’t correcting issues fast enough to prevent them from going to the province.
“I’ve got guys who can’t even get insurance now because they have convictions.”
Alfano said the city isn’t working fast enough to solve the problem.
“This was a problem back in January,” he said. “We’re in May, and they’ve still done nothing.”
A response from the City of Toronto didn’t arrive by press time.
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume
Toronto denies trials, wrongfully convicts thousands: Paralegals
Paralegals say city isn't addressing clerical error that's convicting clients who've plead not guilty to provincial offence tickets
