After golfing all day, our client was sunburned and possibly suffering from heatstroke. While driving home, he lost consciousness and his vehicle abruptly veered into the oncoming lane, causing a head-on collision with multiple vehicles. Police officers attended the scene and two officers spoke with our client. The first officer evaluated our client and concluded that […]
Police officers warned our client not to communicate with his ex-wife. However, our client sent his ex-wife numerous e-mails over a period of several months. These e-mail were unwanted. Our client was charged with criminal harassment on the basis that he allegedly caused his ex-wife to reasonably fear for her safety by repeatedly communicating with […]
As part of her employment obligations, our client handled and delivered sensitive documents on a daily basis, including cheques. Over the course several months, multiple cheques were reported as missing and as being fraudulently paid to third parties. Our client's employer conducted an internal investigation and focused exclusively on her, concluding very early on that […]
Our client and the complainant had a long-distance on-again / off-again relationship and have three children together. The couple had broken up a year before the allegations, but they had rekindled their relationship about seven months later. (Importantly, throughout the investigation and trial, the complainant repeatedly claimed that they had never gotten back together.) On […]
In some cases, charges can be resolved without a trial and without a plea of guilt. The two most common ways to resolve charges without findings of guilt are post-charge diversion and peace bonds. These options are normally available where the defendant is a first-time offender or where the prosecution recognizes that its case is […]
A husband and wife woke up in the middle of the night. When they looked outside, they saw our client standing at their car, apparently leaning into the vehicle. The husband ran outside to confront our client. The windows had been smashed. The husband accused our client of having stolen his wallet from their car. […]
Once a defendant has been either released on bail or detained in custody pending trial, their case will move into an “administrative phase.” This phase includes a number of administrative court appearances before a justice of the peace in the Ontario Court of Justice’s “remand court” or a judge in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s […]
After someone has been arrested for an offence, the criminal justice system must determine whether that person should be kept in custody or released from custody while they wait for the case to finish. This part of the Canadian criminal justice system is called “judicial interim release” or “bail.” In some cases, the police officer […]
Earlier this week, University of Ottawa criminology professor Justin Piché published an article in the Ottawa Citizen arguing that the Government of Ontario should not build a new larger jail to replace the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC). According to the OCDC Task Force report, the current jail is meant to have a capacity of 496 inmates […]
In the Canadian criminal justice system, “diversion” (for adults) or “extrajudicial measures” (for young persons) is a process where police or prosecutors agree to take a course of action that either avoids charges altogether or avoids having charges lead to a finding of guilt. Pre-charge diversion (for adults) or “alternative measures” (for young persons) happens when […]
