Criminal Court Procedure in Toronto,
Ontario
This article
is a brief and general overview
providing legal information about
Canadian court procedure for those
facing criminal code charges in
Toronto, Ontario. Those facing a
criminal charge should
consult a
criminal lawyer.
Generally, every
person charged with a criminal
offence in Canada will go through a
similar court procedure. Outlined below is
some of what you can expect to
happen during the course of a
criminal charge.
The First
Appearance in Court
After being charged with a criminal
offence, a police officer has the
discretion to hold you for a bail
hearing or release you from the
police station. To learn more about
the bail hearing process, read
Topic #3 - The Bail Hearing Process.
Whether or not you are held for bail
or released from the police station,
you will be required to attend
court on a certain date and time.
This appearance in court is
sometimes referred to as your “first
appearance”.
Do I need a
lawyer to attend my first appearance
in court?
Prior to your first
appearance, you can retain a lawyer
to attend court with you or even to
attend your court appearances on
your behalf, depending on your
retainer agreement. Your lawyer is
there to speak for you, so you don't
have to worry about saying the wrong
thing. In most courthouses, the
Crown Attorney will give priority to
the cases where a lawyer is present
in court PRIOR to dealing with any
cases involving unrepresented
accused persons. Many accused
persons retain lawyers prior to
their first appearance in court.
Who will be at
court on my first appearance?
Your first appearance is NOT your
trial. None of the witnesses or
police officers involved in your
case will be there. It is NOT an
opportunity to tell the judge your
side of the story. The central
purpose of your first appearance in
court will be to obtain the details
of the allegations against you.
Any evidence the Crown intends to
use against you at your trial MUST
be disclosed to you in advance. This
procedure is called “disclosure”.
Your “disclosure” may include,
police or other witness statements,
surveillance videos, photographs or
any other type of evidence that
relates to your case. The Crown must
disclose ALL relevant materials to
you, regardless of whether they
assist the Crown's case or not.
Evidence in the Crown's possession
that points towards your innocence
must also be disclosed to you.
Obtaining full disclosure in your
case is crucial as “disclosure” will
tell your lawyer almost everything
they need to know about the strength
of the Crown's case against you and
how they can best defend you against
the charges you are facing.
Quite often, disclosure will not be
provided on your first appearance in
court. If disclosure is not
available, you (or your lawyer on
your behalf) will have to return to
court on another occasion to obtain
it from the Crown. The nature and
complexity of the allegations will
usually dictate how quickly
disclosure is provided. The more
serious or complex a case is, the
longer it usually takes to obtain
the disclosure.
Second Appearance
and Subsequent Court Appearances
If disclosure is not provided to you
(or your lawyer) at the first court
appearance, you will have to return
to court a second time (or possibly
a number of times) in order to
obtain it.
Nothing meaningful can be done in
your case without disclosure.
However once disclosure is received,
the next step is to discuss the case
with a Crown Attorney. This step is
often referred to as a “crown
pre-trial” or “crown resolution
meeting”.
Crown
Pre-trial/ Resolution Meeting
The pre-trial/resolution meeting
between your lawyer and the Crown
Attorney usually takes place over
the telephone after disclosure has
been received and reviewed by your
counsel.
Typically what is first discussed at
this meeting is whether or not the
Crown intends to proceed on the
charges as laid. In the event they
wish to continue the prosecution,
the Crown and defence lawyer may
discuss whether the accused person
will be pleading “guilty” or “not
guilty”. A “not guilty” plea will
likely result in a trial.
If the accused person intends on
pleading “guilty”, the Crown will
usually outline the charge or
charges they require the accused to
plead guilty to, the facts
surrounding the allegations to be
accepted as part of the guilty plea
and what the appropriate sentence
may be.
If the case will be heading to
trial, the Crown and defence lawyer
may discuss which witnesses are
required for trial and may estimate
the length of trial time required to
hear the matter so an appropriate
trial date can be obtained.
Depending on the complexity of the
case, or whether or not defence
counsel and the Crown can agree on
the resolution position for a guilty
plea, one of the
parties may request a judge to
become involved in the pre-trial
discussions and act as a mediator.
This meeting with the judge is
referred to as a “judicial
pre-trial”.
Judicial
Pre-Trial
In some cases, either the Crown or
defence counsel may request the
assistance of a judge during the
pre- trial discussions. A judge may
give their opinion on the merits of
the case in an attempt to sway one
side or the other towards a fair
compromise. A judge may also give
their opinion on an appropriate
sentence in the event of a guilty
plea or assist with estimating the
duration of time required should the
case go to trial. It is often a
strategic decision to involve a
judge in pre-trial discussions.
Every case is fact-specific. After a
judicial pre-trial is completed and
assuming Crown counsel wishes to
continue the prosecution, an accused
person will have to make the
decision to go to trial or to
resolve their matter by way of a
guilty plea.
Guilty Plea
A guilty plea requires admitting the
facts that form the basis of the
charge or charges before the court.
Once you have decided to plead
guilty, a date is scheduled for the
guilty plea to take place. In some
cases, the plea may take place
before the judge who participated in
the judicial pre-trial (if one has
occurred) but this is not always the
case, nor is it necessary. One of
the most important aspects of a
guilty plea is the sentencing
hearing that occurs after the plea.
In some cases, the Crown and defence
counsel may jointly ask for the same
sentence. In other cases the Crown
and defence counsel may disagree on
the appropriate sentence resulting
in both parties asking the judge for
completely different sentences.
Ultimately, it is up to the judge to
impose the appropriate sentence
based on the specific facts of each
case and the details of the offender
being sentenced. In the event that
an accused person does not wish to
plead guilty, a trial date is
scheduled.
Trial Date
As you can see, there is quite a
process before a criminal case ends
up at trial. A trial usually occurs
several months (sometimes even a
year or longer) after the offence
was alleged to have occurred.
At trial, the Crown attorney will
lead evidence from witnesses and
other sources to demonstrate that
you are guilty of the offences
before the court. Your defence
lawyer will have an opportunity to
question any witness called by the
Crown. Once the Crown believes they
have established proof of your guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt, they will
rest their case. At this point,
you may chose to testify or call
evidence on your own behalf to
challenge the Crown's case.
Hiring a lawyer to work with you
through the entire court process
will ensure that you are properly
represented at each and every stage
of the proceeding. A lawyer is not
just for someone who intends on
having a trial. Your lawyer will
also ensure that your interests are
protected every step of the way. This is crucial to
ensuring a winning strategy and a
positive outcome in your case
regardless of whether or not it your
case goes to trial.
Please call (416)
297.7200 for a
Free consultation.
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