R v Xinos

R. v. Christos Xinos

Ontario Court (Provincial Division)
Ontario Court (Provincial Division) — Judge August | February 9, 1996

Background

Christos Xinos received a certificate of offence under the Highway Traffic Act. When he failed to respond to the ticket, it went to the "fail to respond" docket and he was convicted in his absence. Xinos then appealed that conviction.

The problem? The original certificate showed section 109 of the Highway Traffic Act as the offence. But someone had obviously changed it to section 128 on the ICON computer printout. This wasn't a typo or clerical error — someone had deliberately altered the section number after the fact.

Issues

1. Was the certificate of offence "proper and regular on its face" as required by section 9 of the Provincial Offences Act?
2. Should the conviction be quashed due to the irregularity in the certificate?

The Certificate Defect

Section 9 of the Provincial Offences Act is crystal clear: when someone fails to respond to a ticket, a justice can only enter a conviction if the certificate is "proper and regular on its face." If there's an irregularity, the certificate must be quashed.

Here, the defence lawyer pointed out that the certificate showed section 109 while the computer printout showed section 128. This wasn't a minor discrepancy — someone had taken "the opportunity to amend this" after the certificate was issued. The Crown attorney immediately conceded the point, agreeing that the certificate was not complete and regular, and actually asked the court to allow the appeal and quash the certificate.

The court allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction and fine, and entered an acquittal.

Key Takeaway

Any irregularity on the face of a certificate of offence means it must be quashed if you failed to respond.

This case shows that even post-issuance alterations to computer records can't cure defects in the original certificate. If you're facing a fail-to-respond conviction, scrutinize every detail on your certificate — section numbers, dates, locations, and officer information must all be accurate and unaltered.