Line 4 on your paper · fingerprints
Your paper has a fingerprint date.
That line says to appear for fingerprints under the Identification of Criminals Act: a separate appointment from your court date, with its own time and place. Know when and where to go, and why it matters: missing it without a lawful excuse is its own offence under the Criminal Code.
The line, word by word
Two dates. Two places.
- "Identification of Criminals Act"
- The name of the law this line comes from. The appointment comes with the charge. Being charged is not being convicted. The line uses the name of the law; it doesn't say you did anything.
- "Appear for fingerprints"
- A second appointment, not the court date. The fingerprint appointment is usually at a police station, not the courthouse. It can be on a different day from the court date. Read both lines and put each one in your phone, with the address.
- "At the time and place stated"
- The appointment is the one printed on the paper. The paper is specific: a date, a time, an address.
Lines 4, 5 and 6, and line 2
The dates that come with this line.
Fingerprint date. The time and place on line 4, separate from court. 7 days. The car, impounded at the roadside. Your paper says 7 days 90 days. The licence, suspended the same night. Your paper says 90 days Day on the paper. The court date, at the courthouse on line 3. Which courthouse is on it?
Count your daysThe car. Impounded at the roadside. The registered owner collects it after day 7 and pays the tow and storage.
The licence. Suspended by the police, not a court, starting the same night.
The court date. The criminal case starts here, at the courthouse on line 3.
About this line
Asked about the fingerprint date.
Is the fingerprint date the same as my court date?
No. They are two separate appointments, each with its own date, time and place. The fingerprint appointment is usually at a police station, not the courthouse. Your paper lists both. Put each one in your phone.
What happens if I miss the fingerprint date?
Missing it without a lawful excuse is its own offence under section 145 of the Criminal Code, separate from the impaired charge. That is a new charge, added to the first one. If you can't make it, ask a lawyer about it before the date.
Does being fingerprinted mean I'm convicted?
No. The fingerprint appointment comes with the charge. A charge is not a conviction. The impaired charge itself is still decided in court, starting at the courthouse named on your paper.
Do I need a lawyer with me for fingerprints?
The paper asks you to appear at the time and place it lists. Whether you should speak to a lawyer first, and what to say or not say there, is a question for the call.
Talk it through
Talk through the fingerprint line.
Say there's a fingerprint date, when it is, and which other papers you have. No need to explain what happened.