A Peek At The Toronto Criminal Law System

By Author: Fabiola Groshan
Total Articles: 2671
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In Toronto, as a Canadian city, the criminal law is set and controlled by the federal government. As any other law branch, Toronto criminal law system has its own proceedings and members and of these members, the criminal lawyers play an important role. They must respect all requirements of the criminal justice system, in order to ensure their clients the best defence. Since criminal offences have the hardest sentences, Toronto criminal defence firms have the most difficult task; their clients’ lives depend on their strategies and pleadings.

In Toronto criminal law system, a person can be prosecuted for any offence established by the Criminal Code, which stipulates three categories of offences: the summary offences, the indictable offences and the hybrid ones. The summary convictions have the easiest sentences, fine of no more than 5.000 dollars and/ or jail time up to six months. The indictable offences, which include murder and robbery, are the most severe and their punishments are considerably harder. The hybrid offences are not explicitly listed in the Criminal Code, which allows the prosecution to treat them as ...
... either summary or indictable. Criminal offences that concern young people, with ages between 12 and 17, are regulated by a distinct justice act that provides different classifications and sentences. Sometimes, children may be treated as adults in matter of trial and sentencing.

The main proceedings in a criminal trial are the following: the preliminary inquiry, the trial, the sentencing and the appeal. Whenever a person is charged with an indictable offence, the prosecution must prove to a judge that there is enough evidence for a jury trial. If the accused is facing a summary charge or a hybrid charge that the prosecution presents as a summary one, then the defendant does not have the right to a preliminary inquiry and goes directly to trial. During trial, the court can rule in matters of bail, motions, evidence and verdict. If the defendant is standing a jury trial, then the verdict is set by the jury; all other issues are solved by the judge. When an accused is found guilty, it is also the judge’s duty to decide a suitable sentence, according to the code. As far as the appeal is concerned, the prosecution can file it only on a matter of law, while the criminal lawyers can do it on matters of law, fact or a combination of these two.

In all stages of the trial, Toronto criminal defence lawyers have a major part and do their best to offer their clients a fair plea. It is up to them to stop a trial in the preliminary inquiry if the client is innocent, or to point out why a defendant should receive an easier sentence. Because of the severity of the charges, a criminal attorney has the toughest job in preparing a defence strategy; if he does not use all the information in the right way, his client could be imprisoned for life.

In conclusion, Toronto criminal law system is well organised and enforced and, together with the criminal lawyers, it ensures that every trial is a just one and that every accused benefits from the best services the Toronto criminal defence firms offer.

For more resources regarding Toronto criminal defence or even about Toronto criminal law and especially about criminal lawyers please review these pages.