Indictable and Summary Offences
There are two types of criminal offences: summary conviction offences and indictable offences. Each has its own procedural phases and an experienced Criminal Lawyer can employ different strategies applicable to each phase. Most offences are dual procedure, or hybrid. This means that the Crown Attorney can elect to prosecute either by way of summary conviction or by indictment.
Summary Conviction Offences
These offences generally carry a sentence up to a maximum six months imprisonment, with some exceptions. There are two procedural phases: pre-trial and trial.
The pre-trial phase consists of three procedural steps: 1) Obtaining complete disclosure of all the evidence from the Crown Attorney; 2) a Crown Pre-Trial meeting; and 3) a Judicial Pre-Trial.
When facing charges, initial disclosure provided during the first or second court appearance is, in most cases, incomplete. We carefully review all disclosure and make a second or third request for additional materials which appear to be missing from, and ought to be present in, the disclosure package. These additional materials almost always turn out to be helpful to the client’s case. Once complete disclosure has been obtained, We review the materials with you before proceeding to the next step.
A Crown Pre-Trial is a meeting between the Crown Attorney and the Defence Lawyer. This is a good opportunity for us to fully canvass all the issues and identify any weaknesses in the Crown’s case. In some cases, the Crown would then consider reducing or withdrawing the charges.
A Judicial Pre-Trial is a meeting conducted before a Judge with both the Crown Attorney and the Defence Lawyer present. We take this opportunity to again argue any weaknesses in the Crown’s case and encourage the Judge to confront the Crown for the purpose of reviewing whether the charges should be reduced or withdrawn. As well, the Crown may indicate a sentencing position on an early guilty plea and this would also be discussed with the Judge. Once the issues have been narrowed down, and if a trial is to proceed, then there is a discussion of how many witnesses are expected to be called and how long the trial is likely to be.
Once the pre-trial phase is completed, and if the matter hasn’t yet been resolved, we then discuss trial strategies with you and obtain instructions, as your trial counsel.
Indictable Offences
These are the more serious offences, which can carry a maximum sentence from two years to life imprisonment. Most indictable offences provide the opportunity to elect to have a preliminary hearing before a Judge in the Ontario Court of Justice, which is conducted after the pre-trial phase and before the trial phase. Similar to a trial, the Crown calls its witnesses and we would take the opportunity to cross-examine each witness presented. There is no plea of guilty or not guilty, and there is no finding of guilty or not guilty. Instead, the Judge must decide whether there is sufficient evidence to hold a trial in the Superior Court of Justice.
Steven Tress
In furtherance of your defence, this is a good opportunity for us to test the Crown’s evidence and expose the weaknesses in the Crown’s case. If the Judge decides that there is insufficient evidence to hold a trial, then the charges are dismissed and the client is free to go. If a trial is to proceed, then the evidence given by the witnesses during their examination and cross-examination at the preliminary hearing may be used against them at trial.
To effectively represent you in a criminal case, we seize any opportunity to successfully dispose of the charges throughout all phases of the case.
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