Procedure Procedure from Arrest to Trial

i) 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 to lay a charge? Indictable offences no statute of limitations for as long as the accused lives Summary conviction offences 6 months

ii) First Appearance Arraignment Charge formally read in front of a Justice of the Peace Accused is advised to obtain counsel Crown might request a show cause hearing Either released on own recognizance or remanded in custody

Arraignment outcomes 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 drops 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 BenefitsCriticisms shorter trials saves money provides police with valuable information Certainty of accused at least being guilty of something Criminal gets off easy - public loses confidence, becomes cynical Victims are not consulted Police tend to overcharge

iii) Second Appearance 1) Enter Plea – guilty / not guilty 2) Elect court and type of trial No Choice: when Most Serious superior court jury trial Least Serious provincial court judge trial OR

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 Advantages of Judge Alone 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 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

1. Preliminary Hearing Provincial Court Determines if there is enough evidence for a trial to be held in a higher court Procedure (charge read → plea entered → witness examined, cross-examined, reexamined → lawyers sum up → → Judge rules)

Preliminary Hearing continued Judge Rules Direct Indictment Crown applies for this. Skip the Preliminary Hearing and proceed directly to trial Note: Accused could waive right to a preliminary stay of proceedings or Committal for trial

2. Jury Selection Regulations: 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

Jury Selection Procedures people summoned from municipal voting lists Names randomly selected and called Lawyers say either challenge (not accepted) or content (accepted)

Facts about juries responsible for verdict 12 members (Can function 10) Must be unanimous (otherwise dismissed as a hung jury) Sequestered - isolated - all juries when deliberating- some juries throughout the trial - in high publicity cases

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