February 1 extension for payment of mask fines

THE JUDICIARY has revised the procedure for paying mask fines.

Those who receive a public-health fixed-penalty notice for not wearing a face mask on or before November 30 can pay that ticket any time from December 1-February 1, 2021.

To pay the fine, the judiciary has established an e-mail address: health.fine@ttlawcourts.org or phone (224-5182) for information on how to pay the ticket.

The Judiciary said because of covid19 health regulations, all court customers must first contact the court to discuss their matters and any changes to the procedure for paying mask fines will be provided in follow-up notices.

All tickets give a date for a virtual court hearing. Those who received tickets or receive them before November 30 will be given a new date for hearings and for those who are contesting the ticket, their hearings have been pushed back to February-May 2021.

Tickets issued in September have been adjourned to February; tickets issued in October have been adjourned to March and April and for tickets received in November, those hearings have gone to April and May.

Anyone contesting a ticket who has not paid the fine and attended their virtual hearing before a magistrate or Children's Court master is reminded that their case can either be dismissed or they be made to pay a fine of up to $5,000, or, in default, serve a prison sentence.

In matters involving children, the child will be sanctioned as set out in the Children Act.

To challenge a ticket, a person can pay the fine before February 1 and file a notice of appeal. If they are successful, the fine will be refunded. These appeals are not filed in the Court of Appeal and if someone cannot challenge their ticket online, they can call the court office to make an appointment to use one of the public access kiosks at designated court building