Are you planning on having someone that is not a lawyer appear with you in traffic court? If you must have help, it will be at the discretion of the presiding justice.
Perhaps the best thing that you can do to pave the way is to write to the court prior to your trial and explain the situation.
Identify the person that will represent you and explain why you want them to act on your behalf. Will they provide moral support, monitor and quietly suggest questions for you to ask when you conduct your trial or will they conduct the trial for you?
It’s best if only one of you asks questions and makes submissions.
Knowing this, the justice will be much better prepared and perhaps more likely to exercise their discretion to permit what you want. Keep in mind that the justice’s discretion can be revoked at any time during the proceedings. They may step in when it becomes obvious that a helicopter parent’s participation is preventing their child from being effective or the agent becomes unduly argumentative.
Tim Schewe is a retired constable with many years of traffic law enforcement. To comment or learn more, please visit DriveSmartBC.ca