Glossary
In Abuse and Family Violence, Family Law, Tribunals and Courts
Direct examination is when one party, or their lawyer if they have one, questions their own witnesses. These are witnesses you ask to testify or speak in support of your court case.
Direct examination is also called examination-in-chief.
In Criminal Law
This is a special power of the Attorney General to override the preliminary hearing process. If a direct indictment is preferred against you, your case will be sent to trial in the Superior Court of Justice, without a preliminary hearing, or after you have been discharged at a preliminary hearing.
In Employment and Work, Housing Law, Human Rights
In Ontario’s human rights laws, the term disability includes many conditions. For example, a disability can be a physical condition, a mental condition, a learning disability, a developmental disability, or a mental illness. Disability also includes being addicted to or dependent on drugs or alcohol.
You could be born with a disability. Or, you could have a disability because you were sick or injured.
The Disability Adjudication Unit (DAU) is part of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
The DAU decides whether you meet the ODSP definition of a person with a disability.
They do not interview you or give you a medical examination.
They make their decision using the information they get from you and the health professionals who complete forms about your disability.
You get a Disability Determination Package when you apply to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and need an approved health professional to give information that proves you’re a “person with a disability”.
The package includes 4 forms:
- Self Report
- Consent to Release Medical Information
- Health Status Report
- Activities of Daily Living Index
You have to return the completed forms to the Disability Adjudication Unit.
In Family Law
Disbursements are extra costs related to your court case that you have to pay. For example, the cost of photocopying documents and court filing fees are disbursements. These amounts can be included in an order for cost consequences.
A discharge ends the bankruptcy process. It happens when you’re released from most of your unsecured debts.
If you do not have to go to court for your discharge, it’s called an automatic discharge.
If you do have to go to court, a judge decides if you can be discharged from your bankruptcy.
In Criminal Law
If you are discharged after a preliminary hearing, the judge has decided that there is not enough evidence to order you to stand trial in the Superior Court of Justice. Your court case will be over and you will not be convicted of the crime unless the crown appeals the discharge.
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 Debt and Consumer Rights, Cellphones
The termination or end of your wireless services by a service provider.