Glossary
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.
An election is a choice that is given to the Crown, or an accused person when there is an allegation of a serious crime.
A Crown election happens when you are charged with a hybrid offence. The Crown will elect to prosecute your case summarily, or by indictment.
If you are charged with an indictable offence, or a hybrid offence that the Crown is prosecuting by indictment, you have an election to make. You can choose to have your trial in the:
- Ontario Court of Justice before a judge,
- Superior Court of Justice before a judge, or
- Superior Court of Justice before a judge and jury.
Making this choice is referred to as making an election. If you elect to have your trial in the Superior Court of Justice you can also choose to have a preliminary hearing in the Ontario Court of Justice.
In Criminal Law
If someone claims you did not comply with a court order, the court can schedule an estreatment hearing. For example, this can happen if someone claims you did not follow a recognizance of bail. At the estreatment hearing, you or your surety will be ordered to pay the amount promised to the court when the recognizance of bail was signed.
You and your surety will be given at least 10 days’ notice of when and where the hearing will be held.
In Criminal Law
Evidence is used to prove that something is true or false. In court, evidence comes in different forms, such as documents, photographs, or information from witnesses. A judge, justice of the peace, or jury uses evidence to make a decision.
Evidence is also what the police gather when they investigate a crime. This includes statements people make and property the police find when they’re doing a search.
In Criminal Law, Types of Offences, Bail, Probation, and Court Attendance, Assault, Driving, Drugs, Firearms, Gender-based violence, Harassment, Mischief, Theft, Threats, Victims and witnesses
Extortion is using threats or physical force to get a person to do something, or to get something from them, such as money or property. It is still a crime for someone to try to extort another person, even if the extortion doesn’t work.
In Criminal Law
A way of diverting youth criminal behaviour. EJS can be imposed before or after a young person is charged with a criminal offence. Examples of EJS include:
- volunteer work
- compensating the complainant
- attending specialized programs
If you finish the program, your court case is over and you will not have a youth court record, but there will be a police record of your participation in EJS for 2 years.