Contact Simon Borys
I am always open to networking with people and sharing my knowledge and experience in the following areas:
* Policing
* Criminal Law and Provincial Statutes
* Ontario Highway Traffic Act and commercial vehicle regulations
* Vehicle inspections and safety and compliance
* Police service recruitment in Ontario
* LSAT and law school applications
* Connections in policing
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to network with me or if you have any questions in these areas, but remember that I can not give legal advice. Also, please do not include any information in your comments on my posts that you want to remain confidential. Posted comments are visible for all to see and are subject to moderation by me if I feel they contain information that is inappropriate for public consumption.
I can be reached through email at or simonpborys@gmail.com.
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16 Responses to “Contact Simon Borys”
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Simon Borys
Simon Borys is a former police officer, a law student at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and an aspiring criminal lawyer.
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Hi Simon,
I saw some of your responses on the OntarioTrafficAct forum and was wondering if you could give me advise regarding a stunt driving charge I received this morning.
I was driving on Hwy 62 just south of Barrys Bay, exiting a 50 zone and entering a 60 zone. I was certain I was travelling 80 (which I thought was the speed limit) according to the officer I was travelling 104kph. My intention is to hire legal representation, what would your advise be? Strategy of defence?
Thanks,
Scott
Scott, I can’t give you legal advice, but I can tell you, from my experience in court on speeding trials, that when the defendant acknowledges they were speeding (i.e. 80 km/hr), but says they weren’t going as fast as the officer claims (i.e. 104 km/hr), the court usually believes the officer because they had the equipment specifically designed to measure the speed of moving vehicles and they were in the course of their duties when they measured your speed and thus are unlikely to be either mistaken or lying.
Hi Simon,
Could a location error on a parking ticket slip be a valid reason for getting rid of the ticket?
Again, bearing in mind that this is not legal advice, I can tell you that, from my experience in court, the question is usually not whether there has been a technical defect or error on the ticket, but whether the error defect or error has prejudiced the defendant’s ability to make a defence to the charge. That being said, there are some “fatal errors”, but location is not usually one of them because the charge wording is usually only that you were charge “in the city of _____”.
Check out R v Young a case in London Ontario. At certain stages of the process (prior to entering an actual plea) If you are a no show at appearance date the Justice of the Peace looks at the ticket. If it is not correct on its face (ie wrong fine or a host of other mistakes) they have no authority to amend the ticket if it is defective, therefore it gets tossed. The trick is bringing the defect to the attention of the J.P.
I am familiar with City of London v Young and what it stands for, however the problem in those situations is that there is no way to bring the defect to the attention of the JP. If you are there in court personally and you say something, they will call you up to be arraigned on the charge and enter a plea. At that time, the crown can request that the defect be amended. The only thing you can do is hope that the JP notices the error and quashes the ticket. If they don’t and they convict, then you have to appeal the ticket on the grounds that it should have been quashed. On the appeal, I believe the crown has lost the ability to request an amendment to the certificate to rectify the defect.
As always, this isn’t legal advice, just my opinion and experience…
I was in an accident (I hit a pole) no one else was involved. I did not realize at the time but my lisence phot card was expired. I put the claim through my insurance (after taking the advice of an insurenace specialist at the company) and about two years later the Ins company has has now told me I was not covered because my card had expired and I am to pay back the money given out by them. Throughout the time my photocard was expired, which i did not realize, I paid them over $2000 in insurance coverage. I understand I should have kept my lisence card up to date, but I cant help feeling taken advantage of by RBC. Any advice?
Sounds like you need specific legal advice, which I can’t give. I would suggest you contact a lawyer (probably a civil lawyer) who can assess the contract between you and the insurance company and give you an opinion no how it applies to your specific situation.
I was stopped by a cop. My insurance was canceled the day before. She just gave me a ticket for not having insurance slip (I had temporary slip only) but she said she will call the insurance company to check. Should I expect to hear from her or she can’t give me more tickets?
P.S. I didn’t know it was expired that day but I had set up another insurance with another company but it was not effective till a couple of days later (was weekend).
I can’t comment on your case specifically and whether or not you will be charged, but an officer can issue you a Part 3 Summons for the offence of driving without insurance at a later date after they have had a chance to confirm it with the insurance company.
What is your experience with equipment failure as a defense. I am charged with not signalling a lane change but I found out I have an intermittent relay. If I bring my receipt to show that it was indeed the case and that it is now fixed what happens?
Sometimes prosecutors will withdraw charges in situations like that. I’ve seen it happen but of course I have no idea of whether it would be likely to happen in your case – it depends on a lot of factors. The other thing you have to think about is whether the offence you are charged with is strict or absolute liability. If it is absolute liability then it doesn’t matter whether you knew you were committing the offence or not.
I have no idea how to find that out but thanks. Btw, I’ve gotten lots of good info from this site. Keep it up!! Peace
I was charged with an unsafe lane change in November and plead not guilty to the charge. I have yet to received a court date due to the officer who charged me being on stress leave. Is it possible for someone in this situation to demand a court date anyway even though the officer will not be able to attend? Are the courts allowed to delay court proceedings due to the officer’s stress leave? If this continues, would this be a violation of section 11(b) of the Charter (unreasonable delay), or does an officer’s leave not fall under the Crown?
Also, I will be arguing that another driver (a police officer with his lights and no siren on who came around a corner behind my vehicle at much greater speed than I was traveling) created an emergency situation that caused the accident, yet this driver is listed as an impartial witness in the police report. Is that permitted?
I understand that you cannot give legal advice and will not regard your reply as such.
You’re quite right that this is not legal advice for you specific situation, but let me say that you probably don’t need to get too worked up about how the officer is listed on the collision report. If the officer is going to be at the trial you will be able to ask your questions in the appropriate forum, regardless of how they were listed. In fact the JP probably wouldn’t even be aware of how the officer was listed on that report.
I don’t think there is any way for you to expedite your court date. If the officer is not available, then the court will not likely schedule a date until they know the officer is. But you are correct that the time that passes (that is not attributable to you) does count for the purpose of an 11(b) claim. I would point out however that 11(b) calculations and arguments are by no means simple. A properly qualified lawyer or paralegal would be a good idea to assist you with this if you feel that you are in a position to make such a claim.