Court dates are a rarity for smaller parking tickets:
It's no surprise that the courts are backed up with people fighting parking tickets. As a result, lower denomination tickets are generally being canceled instead of having court dates issued to them. This is by no means a guarantee, but a general trend that has been brought out into the public lately.
The city of Toronto has ramped up the issuance of parking tickets to the point where 2.7 million tickets are issued every year. Enforcement officers are encouraged to ticket whenever possible, and as a result things have gotten out of hand. We don't believe that the courts should be abused, but the right to request a court date is now the only thing a citizen has to protest against out of control parking enforcement.
So, if you have a $30 or $40 dollar ticket that you disagree with, its worth fighting. You will probably never receive a court date, and if you do, your enforcement officer must be present to have a conviction brought against you.
Read more about how $30 dollar parking tickets are vanishing.
Your fine will often be reduced:
If you receive a major ticket, and have a legitimate reason for why you received it, you should also fight your ticket. For both traffic and parking tickets, the courts will often reduce the amount of this ticket in light of extenuating circumstances. Usually for traffic tickets you will be able to avoid points on your driver record if you make a plea with the prosecutor. Of course, if the officer is unable to attend the trial, you will have the charges dismissed.
