Criminal Defence
With Intent & Intensity.

The process begins when you are charged or required to attend court. This may occur through a summons, an appearance notice, an undertaking to a police officer, or by being held in custody for a bail hearing. Each of these documents requires attendance in court at a specific time and place, and some may also require you to attend for fingerprinting. An undertaking may also impose conditions requiring you to do certain things or prohibiting contact, attendance, or travel. If you fail to attend court, a warrant may be issued for your arrest and you may face a further charge for failing to attend. If you breach conditions, you may be re-arrested, taken into custody, and charged again. If police do not release you, you will remain in custody and must be brought before the court for a bail hearing within 24 hours.

At a bail hearing, a Judge or Justice of the Peace decides whether you will be released or detained. The Crown may consent to release with suggested conditions or seek to justify detention. If released, you must strictly comply with every condition imposed and attend court on the date set out in the release order. If detained, you remain in custody until your matter is resolved or until a further review changes the order. You may seek a bail review of a detention order. The Crown may also apply to review a release order. Bail is one of the earliest and most important stages because it can affect how you prepare and manage the rest of your case.

Your first appearance outside of bail court will usually be in case management court. The date, time, and courtroom will be set out in the summons, appearance notice, undertaking, or release order you were given. At this stage, the court addresses disclosure, confirms whether you have retained a lawyer, applied for legal aid, or intend to represent yourself, and deals with scheduling. The court may also address whether Crown pre-trials or judicial pre-trials have been arranged. In most cases, the matter remains in case management court until it is resolved, set for trial, or set for a preliminary inquiry where available.

A Crown Pre-Trial is an opportunity to discuss the case with the Crown, review disclosure issues, and explore possible resolutions. If you have a lawyer, counsel will usually handle that discussion. If you do not, you may in some cases be able to arrange a discussion directly with the Crown Attorney’s office. A Judicial Pre-Trial is a meeting with a Judge, the Crown, and your lawyer if you have one. If you do not, you attend yourself. The goal is to try to resolve the matter or narrow the issues for trial. These discussions may address withdrawals, guilty pleas, time estimates, evidentiary issues, procedural issues, and any anticipated Charter applications so that enough trial time can be scheduled.

A criminal matter may resolve without a trial in several ways. The Crown may withdraw charges where there is no reasonable prospect of conviction or no public interest in continuing the prosecution. Diversion, sometimes called direct accountability, may be available and can require community service, counselling, apology letters, donations, or other rehabilitative steps. If diversion is completed, charges may be withdrawn or stayed. A guilty plea is another possible resolution, but before accepting it the court must be satisfied that the plea is voluntary, that you understand the nature and consequences of the plea, that it admits the essential elements of the offence, and that you understand the judge is not bound by any agreement with the Crown about sentence.

In certain indictable matters where the maximum sentence is 14 years or more and the case is proceeding to trial in the Superior Court of Justice, a preliminary inquiry may be available if requested. It does not determine guilt or innocence. Instead, the Judge decides whether there is sufficient evidence to commit you to stand trial. This stage can allow the defence to hear key Crown witnesses, cross-examine them, and better understand the case. If there is not enough evidence, you may be discharged and the case ends. If there is sufficient evidence, the matter is committed to stand trial in the Superior Court of Justice.

At trial, the Crown must prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Witnesses may testify, documents may be filed, and legal arguments will be made. You are not required to call evidence, but you may choose to do so. The Judge then determines whether you are found guilty or not guilty. If you are found guilty, the matter proceeds to sentencing. At sentencing, both the Crown and the defence may make submissions about what sentence is appropriate, and the Judge will impose sentence.