Glossary
This is the information that the police and Crown have about your case. The Crown must give you all the disclosure they have about your case, unless it is covered by privilege. The disclosure may include:
- police officer’s notes
- witness statements
- surveillance video and photos
- financial documents
- medical records
It will be given to you on an ongoing basis as it made available to the Crown by the investigating police officers. You may have to go to court more than once to get all of your disclosure. You should wait until you have all of your disclosure before deciding whether to plead guilty.
In Criminal Law
When you miss a court date the court might order a special kind of warrant called a discretionary bench warrant. With a discretionary bench warrant, the court adjourns your case without ordering a bench warrant for your arrest. They will set a new date for your case. If a discretionary bench warrant is ordered, the police will not arrest you, but if you fail to show up on the new date, the discretionary bench warrant will usually become a full bench warrant and you may be arrested.
In Criminal Law
This is a criminal offence. If you disobey a court order, including a peace bond you can be charged with this offence. If you are convicted, you can be sentenced to up to two years in jail.
Diversion is a word people use to talk about taking criminal charges out of the court and dealing with them in a more informal way. That means dealing with your charges without having a trial or pleading guilty. You can do things like attend a program, take a course, or complete other tasks away from the court. In the youth criminal justice system this is called Extrajudicial Measures (EJM), Extrajudicial Sanctions (EJS), or informal diversion.
In Criminal Law
Domestic assault happens when someone applies force to an intimate partner or ex-partner or threatens to do this This can include pushing, punching, kicking, or trying to do any of those things.
In Criminal Law
These are defence lawyers who work at criminal courthouses to help people who do not have their own lawyers. They are paid for by Legal Aid Ontario. Duty counsel help people at bail hearings, in set date court, or sometimes at guilty pleas. They can offer basic legal advice. In some areas duty counsel may assist in other proceedings.