A

Accused search for term

An accused is a person who has been charged with a criminal offence. They are alleged to have committed a crime, which means that the police feel they have reasons, based on evidence they have gathered, to arrest and lay a charge (or charges). An accused has not been found guilty or plead guilty to the offence(s) they have been charged with. (“accusé”)

See also: Allegation Arrest Defence Offence Offender

Adjournment search for term

An adjournment is when a case is delayed until another day. If a case is delayed until another day, it has been ‘adjourned.’ You may also hear that a case was ‘put over’ or ‘held over.’ This also describes adjournments. (“ajournement”)

Affirmation search for term

An affirmation is a solemn promise that a person makes to tell the truth in court. It is different from an oath in that it does not involve swearing on a religious text. (“affirmation solennelle”)

See also: Testify

Allegation search for term

When someone is charged with an offence, the actions or crimes they are said by the police and the Crown to have done are called allegations. Allegations have not been proven in court. If allegations are later proven or accepted during a guilty plea, they are then called facts. (“allégations”)

See also: Accused Synopsis

Arrest search for term

An arrest occurs when a person is taken into police custody. If an arrest occurs, the person under arrest is, at least temporarily, not free to leave. Usually the person under arrest is placed in handcuffs. In most cases, the police have to have grounds to charge the person with a criminal offence in order to arrest them. An arrested person has certain legal rights that they must be told about by the police when they are arrested. (“arrestation”)

See also: Accused Custody

Assessment search for term

An assessment (also called a ‘psychiatric assessment’) is a type of interview or examination of an accused, usually conducted by a psychiatrist. An assessment is done to try to find out information about an accused’s mental health. An assessment to find out if an accused is ‘fit to stand trial’ is a common type of assessment.

See also: Secure psychiatric facility / hospital

C

Court clerk search for term

A court clerk assists the judge or justice of the peace in running the courtroom. They are responsible for most of the administrative work that takes place in the courtroom. There may be one or more clerks in the courtroom. Court clerks are seated below the judge or justice of the peace and will be dressed in a black robe or gown. (“greffier”)

See also: Justice of the Peace

Criminal Code search for term

The Criminal Code of Canada is a federal statute that contains most of the criminal offences that a person can be charged with in Canada. It also contains most of the procedures that must be followed in criminal court. A federal statute is codified (formally written down) law that has been passed by the Parliament of Canada. (“code criminel”)

See also: Indictment / Indictable offences Offence Omission Summary conviction

Crown search for term

Most often in criminal court, the ‘Crown’ is what the government lawyer (e.g., an assistant crown attorney or a federal crown) who is prosecuting an accused is called. The ‘Crown’ can also be used to refer to the ‘state’ or government that represents the public interest in criminal cases. (“procureur de la Couronne”)

See also: Prosecute

Custody search for term

A person who is ‘in custody’ is not free to leave. For example, a person who is in jail or a person who has been arrested by the police (even if they have not been taken to a police station or jail yet) is in custody. (“garde”)

See also: Arrest Secure psychiatric facility / hospital

D

Defence search for term

A defence is a legal argument that a lawyer makes to defend an accused person against a charge. For example, if you have been charged with assault for hitting someone, it is possible that your lawyer may argue that you have defence to the charge called “self-defence”.

See also: Accused

Disclosure search for term

Disclosure is a copy of the evidence that the Crown and police have collected to prosecute an accused. It usually contains copies of police officers’ notes, witness statements, photographs and any other relevant documents. It is given to the accused because it is the accused’s constitutional right to know the evidence that will be used against him or her. Disclosure is usually provided to the accused on his or her first appearance date. (“dossier de divulgation”)

See also: Evidence Prosecute

E

Evidence search for term

Evidence is something that is presented at trials and hearings to try to help a judge, a justice of the peace or a jury make decisions about a case. In a trial, evidence is presented to try to prove (or raise doubt about) what happened at a past event. In a bail hearing, evidence may be presented to show that an accused person is likely to follow bail conditions. Evidence can come in different forms, such as documents, photographs or a witness’ testimony. Evidence is also used to describe the things gathered by the police during an investigation such as statements, fingerprints and DNA samples. (“preuve”)

See also: Disclosure Exhibit Testify Witness

Exhibit search for term

Exhibits are ‘real’ items, such as a document or an object (e.g., a knife), that are entered as evidence at a trial or a hearing.

See also: Evidence

I

Indictment / Indictable offences search for term

Indictable offences are the more serious charges in the Criminal Code. They carry sentences all the way up to life imprisonment. Dealing with indictable offences can take longer, and can be more complicated than summary conviction offences. A large number of offences allow the Crown to choose to proceed by indictment or by summary conviction. If your case is proceeding by indictment, you should speak to your lawyer about legal options that you may have.

See also: Criminal Code Summary conviction

J

Judicial pre-trial search for term

A judicial pre-trial is a meeting held between a judge, the Crown, and an accused person’s lawyer to discuss a case. This meeting is usually in the judge’s private office (called ‘chambers’), but can also be held in a courtroom that is closed to the public. In some courthouses, unrepresented judicial pre-trials are held where duty counsel may assist an accused person during the meeting.

See also: Trial

Justice of the Peace search for term

A justice of the peace is a judicial officer that ‘presides’ in bail court, first appearance court / set-date court, or provincial offences’ court. To ‘preside’ means to control what goes on in the courtroom and make decisions about what happens with cases. A justice of the peace has similar powers to a judge in the courtroom. A justice of the peace always wears a green sash and should be addressed as ‘Your Worship.’

See also: Court clerk

O

Oath search for term

An oath is sworn promise to tell the truth in court. It involves swearing on a religious text such as the Bible or the Qur’an.

See also: Testify

Offence search for term

An offence is something that is against the law. The Criminal Code has hundreds of criminal offences listed in it. For example, “theft under $5000” is a criminal offence. It is the offence of stealing something that is worth less than $5000. There are other types of offences that are not criminal offences, such as not wearing your seatbelt or parking in a no-parking zone. An offence is also called a ‘charge.’

See also: Accused Criminal Code Offender

Offender search for term

An offender is a person who has plead guilty or been found guilty (after a trial) of an offence. A person charged with a criminal offence changes from being called an ‘accused’ to be calling an ‘offender’ if they plead guilty or are found guilty.

See also: Accused Offence

Omission search for term

In criminal law, an omission is not doing something that you are legally required to do. For example, if you are a parent, you are legally obligated to provide things like food and shelter for your minor children. If you’re and parent and you don’t do those things, you could be charged with a criminal offence.

See also: Criminal Code

Order search for term

An order, which is also called a ‘court order,’ is something that a judge makes requiring certain actions. There are many different types of orders. For example, a probation order is an order requiring an offender to do or not do certain things for a period of time (such as report to a probation officer). If an order is not followed, there can be legal consequences for the person who failed to follow the order, such a being charged with an offence. An ‘order’ is also used to describe the actual document indicating what the judge ordered to happen.

P

Prosecute search for term

To prosecute a case means to review the evidence collected by the police and present that evidence in court at bail hearings, trials and other types of criminal courts. Government lawyers who prosecute cases are called ‘prosecutors.’ Assistant crown attorneys and federal crowns are both examples of prosecutors.

See also: Crown Disclosure Withdraw / Withdrawal

R

Recognizance search for term

A recognizance is a type of bond used in bail court where a person pledges (promises) an amount of money to the court. A recognizance has conditions attached to it that an accused person must follow at the risk of losing some or all of the money promised. Sometimes an accused is released on his or her ‘own recognizance’ where he or she alone risks the money promised. In other cases, a recognizance will have one or more sureties who also risk losing money if the accused doesn’t follow one or more of the conditions.

See also: Surety

S

Secure psychiatric facility / hospital search for term

A secure psychiatric facility is a medical facility, much like a hospital, where accused persons with mental health issues can be assessed and/or receive treatment. They are called ‘secure’ because an accused person is not free to leave the facility during the time that they have been ordered to be there. An accused person is considered to be ‘in custody’ while they are in a secure psychiatric facility.

See also: Assessment Custody

Summary conviction search for term

Summary conviction offences are the less-serious charges in the Criminal Code. Dealing with summary conviction offences is also less-complicated and lengthy than dealing with indictable offences. The maximum penalty for most summary conviction offences is six months jail and/or a fine of $5000. A large number of criminal offences allow the Crown to choose to proceed by summary conviction or by indictment.

See also: Criminal Code Indictment / Indictable offences

Surety search for term

A surety is a person who comes to court and promises to a judge or a justice of the peace to supervise an accused while they are out on bail. A surety also pledges or promises an amount of money to the court by signing a type of bond called a “recognizance.” By doing this, the surety risks losing some or all of the money they have promised to the court if the accused doesn’t follow one or more of the bail conditions or fails to show up to court when required.

See also: Recognizance

Synopsis search for term

A synopsis is a written summary of the evidence collected by the police against an accused person. It is usually about three or four paragraphs long, but for serious charges or complicated cases, it can be several pages long. It is located towards the front of the disclosure package. The synopsis is written by the police officer who is in charge of investigating the case (called the ‘OIC’ or “Officer in Charge”).

T

Testify search for term

Testifying is a way of presenting evidence to the court using a witness. A witness testifies by answering questions asked by the lawyers and the judge. The answers given are called the witness’ testimony.’ The questions are answered while the witness is under oath or after giving an affirmation.

See also: Oath

Trial search for term

In a criminal court, a trial is where the Crown and the accused’s lawyer present evidence and make arguments to a judge to determine if the accused is guilty of a criminal offence. The accused is always innocent until proven guilty, and the Crown has to prove its case ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ Criminal trials can be short, taking only a couple of hours, or very long, taking several months or longer to complete.

W

Withdraw / Withdrawal search for term

To withdraw a charge or charges means to end the prosecution of a case. Only the Crown can make the decision to withdraw charges. If all an accused’s charge(s) are withdrawn by the Crown, the case is finished, the accused doesn’t have to go to court anymore, and he or she won’t have a criminal record.

See also: Prosecute

Witness search for term

A witness is a person who gives evidence in court by testifying. A witness can be called by either the Crown or the accused’s lawyer in a trial or a hearing. A witness is first asked questions by the side who called him or her, then by the other side in something called ‘cross-examination.’ The judge or justice of the peace at the trial or hearing can also ask a witness questions.

See also: Evidence Testify