Law Talk: The trial takes longer than dinner
On TV, someone is charged with a crime,
hires a lawyer, goes to trial and is acquitted
all in the same time it takes to make a
President's Choice lasagne. While you do
have a right to a speedy trial in Canada, the
process is a little more drawn out. In fact, if
you've been charged with a crime, you will
probably be going to court five to 10 times
over the span of many months before you
ever stand in front of a judge to face your
trial or plead guilty. In saying that, here are
four basic things you should know about
how the trial process works, if you are ever
charged criminally.
1. Pre-Trial Court Appearances
You will first appear in front of a Justice of the Peace, and the charge or charges will be read out to you. Usually you will then be asked to come back in a few weeks. If you haven't yet retained a lawyer or if you need to apply for legal aid, you'll be given time to do so. You won't be asked to plead guilty or not guilty. You won't be asked to make any decisions yet. You or your lawyer will make continual appearances in front of a Justice of the Peace until the evidence against you has been reviewed and an informed decision can be made.
2. Full Disclosure
The prosecution must disclose all of their evidence to you, including police statements, video and audio recordings, security camera footage and anything else that may be used against you. You have a right to see all of the evidence the prosecution has, whether or not they plan on using it at your trial.
3. Behind Closed Doors
Your lawyer will likely meet with the prosecution for what is called a Crown Resolution Meeting in order to discuss your case. The prosecution may agree to withdraw some or all of the charges against you, or agree to do certain things in exchange for your agreement to plead guilty. For example, the prosecution may offer to ask a judge to impose a more lenient sentence in exchange for your plea of guilt. While often this can work to your advantage when you have committed an offence, you should know that you cannot plead guilty to a crime that you did not commit. Neither the prosecution nor your defence lawyer can allow you to plead guilty to something you did not do.
4. The Judge Awaits
Once you have reviewed all of the evidence against you and your lawyer has met with the prosecution, you will schedule a date to plead guilty or go to trial. Guilty pleas usually happen quickly, but because of the backlog in our system, trials must be booked months in the future. If you are pleading guilty, you will be appear briefly in front of a judge, who will sentence you immediately following your plea. If you are going to trial, the prosecution must prove the charge or charges against you beyond a reasonable doubt in front of a judge or a judge and jury. You do not have to testify at your trial, and you do not even have to raise a defence — it is the prosecution's job to prove their case, not your job to successfully dispute it.
This column provides legal information only and is produced by the students of Community Legal Services and Pro Bono Students Canada (UWO). The information is accurate as of the date of publication. Laws change frequently so we caution readers from relying on this information if some time has passed since publication. If you need legal advice, please contact a lawyer, community legal clinic, Justice Net at 1-866- 919-3219 or the Lawyer Referral Service at 1-900-565-4LRS. You can contact Community Legal Services to book an appointment to discuss your legal issue or mediation services. Please call us at 519- 661-3352 with any inquires or to book an appointment.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
1. Pre-Trial Court Appearances
You will first appear in front of a Justice of the Peace, and the charge or charges will be read out to you. Usually you will then be asked to come back in a few weeks. If you haven't yet retained a lawyer or if you need to apply for legal aid, you'll be given time to do so. You won't be asked to plead guilty or not guilty. You won't be asked to make any decisions yet. You or your lawyer will make continual appearances in front of a Justice of the Peace until the evidence against you has been reviewed and an informed decision can be made.
2. Full Disclosure
The prosecution must disclose all of their evidence to you, including police statements, video and audio recordings, security camera footage and anything else that may be used against you. You have a right to see all of the evidence the prosecution has, whether or not they plan on using it at your trial.
3. Behind Closed Doors
Your lawyer will likely meet with the prosecution for what is called a Crown Resolution Meeting in order to discuss your case. The prosecution may agree to withdraw some or all of the charges against you, or agree to do certain things in exchange for your agreement to plead guilty. For example, the prosecution may offer to ask a judge to impose a more lenient sentence in exchange for your plea of guilt. While often this can work to your advantage when you have committed an offence, you should know that you cannot plead guilty to a crime that you did not commit. Neither the prosecution nor your defence lawyer can allow you to plead guilty to something you did not do.
4. The Judge Awaits
Once you have reviewed all of the evidence against you and your lawyer has met with the prosecution, you will schedule a date to plead guilty or go to trial. Guilty pleas usually happen quickly, but because of the backlog in our system, trials must be booked months in the future. If you are pleading guilty, you will be appear briefly in front of a judge, who will sentence you immediately following your plea. If you are going to trial, the prosecution must prove the charge or charges against you beyond a reasonable doubt in front of a judge or a judge and jury. You do not have to testify at your trial, and you do not even have to raise a defence — it is the prosecution's job to prove their case, not your job to successfully dispute it.
This column provides legal information only and is produced by the students of Community Legal Services and Pro Bono Students Canada (UWO). The information is accurate as of the date of publication. Laws change frequently so we caution readers from relying on this information if some time has passed since publication. If you need legal advice, please contact a lawyer, community legal clinic, Justice Net at 1-866- 919-3219 or the Lawyer Referral Service at 1-900-565-4LRS. You can contact Community Legal Services to book an appointment to discuss your legal issue or mediation services. Please call us at 519- 661-3352 with any inquires or to book an appointment.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
