Glossary
In Criminal Law
Impaired driving is a crime. The law says that someone is impaired if their ability to drive is affected by alcohol or a drug.
Most criminal offences are “hybrid” offences. This means the Crown uses the specific facts of each case to decide if to prosecute the case as a summary offence or as an indictable offence:
- Summary offences are considered less serious. They go to the Ontario Court of Justice where the court process is simpler and faster. There is never a jury. A judge decides the case on their own. The maximum sentence is 2 years in jail, or a $5,000 fine, or both.
- Indictable offences are considered more serious. They go to the Superior Court of Justice where the court process is more complicated and takes longer. Some cases are decided by a jury and some by a judge. The maximum sentence is often longer than 2 years in jail.
The youth court process and youth sentences are different.
In Criminal Law
Most criminal offences are “hybrid” offences. This means the Crown uses the specific facts of each case to decide if to prosecute the case as a summary offence or as an indictable offence:
- Summary offences are considered less serious. They go to the Ontario Court of Justice where the court process is simpler and faster. There is never a jury. A judge decides the case on their own. The maximum sentence is often 2 years less a day in jail, or a $5,000 fine, or both.
- Indictable offences are considered more serious. They usually go to the Superior Court of Justice where the court process is more complicated and takes longer. Some cases are decided by a jury and some by a judge. The maximum sentences range from 2 years to 14 years in prison.
The youth court process and youth sentences are different.
In Criminal Law
Informed consent is a special type of permission that you can give the police to search you, your home or business. For you to give permission with informed consent, you must understand:
- what the police are asking you to do
- what might happen if you agree to let them search, and
- that you don’t have to give them permission.
In Criminal Law
An intermittent sentence is a sentence where you serve part of your time in jail, for example, on weekends, and part of your time in the community. While in the community, you must follow the terms of a probation order. An intermittent sentence is only available if the total length of your sentence is 90 days or less.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Criminal Law
An intimate image or video is one that was taken in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy, and shows the person:
- naked,
- exposing their genital region, buttocks, or breasts, or
- engaged in explicit sexual activity.
It is a criminal offence to publish, distribute, share, or sell intimate images of someone without their consent. In order to be found guilty of this offence, the person in the image must continue to have a reasonable expectation of privacy at the time you commit the offence.