Criminal Trials

In the Ontario Court of Justice a trial is heard by a judge alone. For more serious indictable offences there is an election, and a matter can proceed in the Superior Court before a judge alone or before a judge and jury. That election is a strategic decision made on the evidence and on the nature of the issues, not a default.

Before a Superior Court trial there may be a preliminary inquiry, which tests whether there is sufficient evidence to commit the matter for trial and, just as importantly, locks witnesses into a version of events under oath.

Cross examination is the engine of a trial

Most criminal trials turn on the reliability of witnesses rather than their honesty. People are confident about details they cannot possibly recall accurately. A properly prepared cross examination is built out of the disclosure: the notes, the first statement, the messages, the timeline, and every place the account has shifted.

Whether you testify is decided late

That decision is made once the Crown case has closed and its real strength is known. It is one of the most consequential calls in a criminal case and it is made with you, fully informed, never reflexively.

Applications run inside the trial

Charter applications, admissibility voir dires and applications under the statutory regimes governing certain evidence are all argued as part of the trial process. They have to be planned for from the beginning, because notice requirements and evidentiary foundations cannot be improvised.