Formally Charged with a Criminal Offence, Taken to the Station to Be Booked

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

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How long do you have to lay a charge? ______

 Indictable offences no statute of limitations for as long as the accused lives

 Summary conviction offences 6 months

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First Appearance - Called an Arraignment ______

 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 Either released on own recognizance or remanded in custody ______

Pretrial Release ______ Bail  Surety ______

Case Remanded ______

 This means the case is put off until a later date

o if hybrid - charge is classified o crown elects - either summary conviction or indictable o 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

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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 aren’t offered a plea bargain  Victims are not consulted

 Court system seen as easily manipulated

 Police tend to overcharge

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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 a) Most Serious (e.g. murder) . Must be in superior court . Must be a jury trial b) 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 ______Choose Judge or Jury ______

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

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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

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Preliminary Hearing ______

 Provincial Court  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 crown’s 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 ______

Trial begins with the selection of the jury ______

Regulations:

 must be: 18 years old, Canadian citizen, never convicted of an indictable offence

 can’t 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

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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)  Types of challenge  Challenge for cause (unlimited number)  “not indifferent” too closely related (case p 223)  Peremptory challenge (no reason given)  20 for murder, 12 if max > 5 years, 4 if max = 5 years ______

 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 can’t continue  Sequestered - isolated - all juries when deliberating- some juries throughout the trial - in high publicity cases

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Facts about juries ______

Juror’s 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

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