CASE LAW - R v Min

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThe case of R v Min arises from an intersection safety camera ticket. A 2015 Audi was photographed traveling through an intersection in Vancouver at a speed between 41 and 60 km/h over the 50 km/h speed limit. Le Min, the owner of the Audi was issued a violation ticket which she disputed. The matter was heard in traffic court where she pled guilty to the offence.

Judicial Justice Bowes varied the mandatory penalty of $368 to $196 that was to include the victim surcharge levy. This resulted in a fine of $138 being assessed.

Crown appealed the sentence, citing the fact that the judicial justice erred in reducing the penalty. Madam Justice Lyster agreed, citing the case of British Columbia (Attorney General) v Guo. Section 88(2) of the Offence Act forbids a justice from imposing a fine that is less than the minimum established under the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA). 

The MVA sets speeding fines in Section 148.1 and the amounts are found in Schedule 3 of the Violation Ticket Adminstration and Fines Regulation.

Ms. Min was ordered to pay the $147 difference and asked if she needed time to pay it. She responded that the Justice could pick any day that she felt like. The justice gave her a month to pay.