Inquiry: My boyfriend had gotten pulled over in August for no Insurance. It is his third offense. He has trial for it March 30th. Will he go to jail for it? What are his chances of just getting off with a fine? He has 2 people he supports at home (myself and our 3 year old son) He has a fulltime Job and he takes care of the rent and bills we are also being forced to move out of our current home because the owners have sold the house we are to move April 1st and are worried if he goes to jail we will have no place to live. Is this a good enough reason for him to get a fine rather then serve jail time? or does he have a chance to serve jail time on the weekends to pay off his fine so he does not loose his job & because he is the soul provider for our son( I am unable to work at the moment due to financial issues)
Response: If the only charge issued is CAIA 2(1)(a), OPERATE M/V – NO INSURANCE, then he should not be facing jail time. However, he is facing a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000 and, in addition, his driver’s licence may be suspended for a period of not more than one year. The fine portion has an additional 25% added to the total dollar amount for the victim fine surcharge. No insurance charges are very serious offences and, as noted above, carry very serious penalties. The more offences a Defendant has had, the higher the penalties that will generally be given by the Court.
Not having spoken with your boyfriend about the details of his case and having not reviewed his disclosure, it is impossible to provide any information regarding whether or not he has a defence to the charge. Barring a grounds to have the charge droppped, we would next develop an application to the court to reduce the various penalties. He may be well advised to gather funds to hire a legal representative in this matter as a good application may reduce the penalties significantly more than the cost of the representation itself. If your boyfriend would like to discuss his matter further, any of our staff may be reached via our toll-free number 1-866-801-8299.
Sincerely,
Greg Currie
Office Manager (London)