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You and the Law The most serious ob- stacles to defending yourself successfully are experience and lack of knowledge as to Court procedure, the com- bination of which is likely to make you quite nervous. The obstacle of inexperience will remain but is offset somewhat due to the Court's ten- dency to help an un- defended person in the presentation of his case. The nervousness problem, I hope to minimize by reducing the number of unknowns through this article but be aware that even seasoned lawyers are nervous at the outset of a trial. From a physical point of view, it is the body's Way of putting you 'on the alert'. It does not feel good but it is necessary-and normally I repeat the caution I gave last time - if for example you are charged with careless driving and you have already lost 9 points, be aware that upon conviction of careless driving, due to the loss of 6 additional points, the government will suspend your driver's licence automatically. In such instances therefore the retaining 'of a lawyer should be seriously con- sidered. I also repeat that if you are charged under the Criminal Code, a lawyer should invariably be considered. In a previous article, I talked about fighting a trafftc ticket up to the point of going to court. This article is about what to do when you get to Court either on a traffic ticket or other Highway Traffic Act offence such as not stopping at a Stop Sign. Elsie McPherson explains items of interest. Page l4 THE YORK NEWS Jun-s. 1981) St. John's Anglican Church - a big role in Weston's History As to Court procedure, the first thing you should know is that you are in- volved in a Tight'. The fighters are the acting Crown Attorney (C.A.) who, for practical pur- poses. is against you, you the accused (A) who should be promoting your cause and the Judge (J) who is analogous to a referee. In theory, the odds are in your favour, because of the legal presumption of in nocence. In practise prepare 'as if" you are presumed guilty. If you ask yourself, WHAT do I have to prove to verify my in- nocence and HOW am I going to prove it, and an- swer those questions, then you will be prepared reasonably well. “read" the section in the Highway Traffic Act with which you are charged. Whether it's a murder trial or a traffic trial, every trial, in form is the same. ' In court, as well as in other situations where convincing is an ingredient, preparation is 90% and presentation 10%. I refer in my book 'Legal First Aid' - to a major ingredient necessary to win. It's called W.A.P. ' dissipates once you are underway. A - Affirm - write out as soon af, C ter the incident as possible, what hap- pened and bring your notes and refer' to them at Court; - Witnesses get their names ad- dresses and telephone numbers at the time of the in- cident and bring them to Cpurt with you. Physiol Evidence This Includes such things as photographs and sketches. Take them after accident and bring them to Court. The above comments are no guarantee of suc- cess but hopefully will be of some assistance to those brave citizens who take their cases to Court. (ii) You the (A) call your' evidence and the same procedure is repreated. Call your wit- ness first and then give evidence yourself. This is the second opportunity to present your case. (iii) Summation Don't lose this op- portunity to present your point of view for the Ihird' time. Write it out in advance and add references to the evidence that were in your favour. Be briefand emphasize that although you are not a lawyer that you respectively suggest that the CA. has not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. DON'T miss this early opportunity to put your case before the Court. As short brief questions but ONLY ask questions at this stage. You will ask questions if you preface any statement with - who, what, where, when or why. The annual meeting and election of officers of the Weston Historical Society was held on May 7 at St. John's Anglican Church on Weston Road. (i) The CA. goes first and calls his evidence. The procedure for each witness is also the same: (3) The C.A. asks questions arising from your questions of his witness (Re- Examination). (2) You (A) ask questions of his witness (Cross - Examination). (I) The CIA. asks questions of his witness (Examination-in-Chief). Gordon Bellamy, at six weeks. Proud parents are Debbie and Chris Bellamy. An appropriate place to hold the meeting for St. John's is very much a part of the history of Weston and still has within it's walls a great many memories and ac- tual articles from yester- year. Speaking to the mem- bers gathered for the an- nual meeting about St. John's was Elsie McPherson. Mrs. McPherson spent a lot of time researching her speach and it was evident as she spoke that it was a chore of love. A fire-that destroyed St. Phillip's Church in I888. resulted in St. By Michael J. McDonald, B.A., LLB. '_-in T77,:7ieaTe755T5hejY a,“ . - -'", ._~M John's being built. To many who pass by the church on Weston Road, the angle the church is on may seem a little strange. There appears to be several reasons for this but they all boil down to the fact that during the moving of the church in 1894 several problems arose and eventually, the church was placed in the ground without much thought to the position. The Weston Historical Society have many in- teresting stories to tell and continue to. attempt to restore as much of the past history of Weston as they can in, order to en- sure that future generations will ap preciate the effort that went into making.the town residents are so proud to be a part of. Mr. McDonald is u lawyer practising York and is the author of "Legal First Aid" Publisher - Coles and "You and The Law. 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