Pre-Trial Procedures

Procedures After Arrest

CLU3M

Laying a charge
1. Arrest - Formally

charged with a criminal

offence, taken to the
station to be booked
Or
2. Appearance Notice Ordered to appear at
court on a specific date
to answer to a charge

How long do police have to lay a

charge?
Indictable offences no statute of limitations for

as long as the accused lives

Summary conviction offences 6 months

The Arraignment
First appearance in court
Charge formally read in front of a Justice of

the Peace

Test the validity of the arrest

Accused is advised to obtain counsel

Duty counsel could assist in this regard
Crown might request a show-cause hearing

(A.K.A. Bail Hearing)

Either released on own recognizance or

remanded in custody

Pretrial Release
Bail a temporary release

of an accused who posts

money or some other
security to guarantee his or
her appearance in court

Must be held before a

Justice of the Peace
within 24 hours of an
arrest

Surety a person who

agrees to make a payment if

the accused does not
appear at trial

Case Remanded
This means the case is put off until a later

date
if hybrid - charge is classified
crown elects - either summary conviction or
indictable
Crown could drop the charges if not enough
evidence (case ends at this point)

Plea Bargaining
Accused agrees to plead guilty to a less serious charge if the crown drops the
more serious charge e.g. Murder to Manslaughter

Benefits
shorter trials
saves money
provides police with valuable
information
Certainty of accused at least
being guilty of something

Criticisms
Criminal gets off easy
public loses confidence
public becomes cynical
Equity
Is it fair to others who
arent offered a plea
bargain
Victims are not consulted
Court system seen as easily
manipulated
Police tend to overcharge

Second Appearance
1. Enter Plea

either guilty, not guilty or

a special plea
2. Elect court and type of
trial - (if given a choice)
A. No choice
Most Serious (e.g.
murder)

Must be in
superior court
Must be a jury
trial

Least serious (s. c. and

indictable< five years)

must be in
provincial court
(judge alone)

Crimes for which the

accused does have a
choice of type of trial:
If maximum in the criminal

code is 5 years or more

1. Superior court - judge and
jury
2. Superior court - judge alone
3. Provincial court judge
(Case will be dealt with
sooner)

Who is Ashley Smith?

Advantages of Jury Trial

1. Juries more easily

manipulated than a
judge by a good lawyer
2. Time delays

Prepare case
More time to reform
witnesses become
less reliable

3. Chance of 1 of 12

rather than all or

nothing

Advantages of Judge Alone Trial

1. Judges are more

predictable

not swayed by
emotions
not influenced as
easily by lawyers

2. Many cases too

technical for juries

3. Judges must give a
reason for their verdict

Preliminary Hearing
Provincial Court, Criminal Division
To determine if there is enough evidence for a

trial to be held in a higher court

Procedure: charge read, plea entered,
witness examined, cross-examined and
reexamined, defence could call witnesses
(e.g. to establish an alibi), lawyers sum up,
Judge rules.

Outcome: Preliminary Hearing

Judge rules:
a) stay of proceedings Or
b) committal for trial

defence learns strengths and weaknesses of crowns

case
can enter a new round of plea bargaining

Direct Indictment

Crown applies for this. Skip the Preliminary Hearing

and proceed directly to trial
Note: Accused could waive right to a preliminary
hearing

Jury Selection
Regulations:
must be: 18 years old,
Canadian citizen, never
convicted of an indictable
offence
cant be: a lawyer, judge,
police officer, prison guard,
coroner, student at law,
spouse of a lawyer or a
police officer, medical doctor,
Veterinarian, firefighter, MP,
MPP, senator, member of the
armed forces, suffering from
a mental disorder

Exemptions:
recent duty
over 70
physical disability interfering
with capacity to act as a juror

Jury Selection Procedures

Names taken from

municipal voting lists

100 to 150 people
summoned to court
Court clerk spins
revolving drum
Names called

lawyers say either

challenge (not
accepted) or content
(accepted)

Jury Selection Procedures

responsible for verdict
supreme on facts (their

interpretation of the facts

overrides all others)
12 members
Must be unanimous
(otherwise dismissed as a
hung jury)
Can function as 11 or 10 if
jurors cant continue
Sequestered - isolated - all
juries when deliberatingsome juries throughout the
trial - in high publicity cases

(cont)

Jurors duty
Jurors Oath:
1. to base verdict solely
on the evidence

advised not to read

papers or watch TV
news

2. Will come to a verdict

in good conscience