Information on How to Attend Court
Information on criminal court appearances, including scheduling and connection information
Criminal court appearances: in-person, virtual or a combination
Information on how to attend court
The Ontario Court of Justice has issued Mode of Appearance Guidelines about how to attend each stage of proceedings in criminal court. These modes of appearance include in-person, virtual attendance using remote technology (video or telephone) or a combination of both.
Importantly, the mode of appearance is always subject to a judicial officer directing otherwise. This allows Regional Senior Judges and Regional Senior Justices of the Peace, or their designates, to account for local circumstances. It also allows the presiding justice to address circumstances specific to that proceeding.
Important reminder about mode of appearance:
This section contains connection information for virtual attendance in some courts.
This section also provides scheduling and connection information for case management courts (including trial readiness courts, where these exist), judge-led intensive case management courts, and guilty plea courts.
It is very important to note, however, that even if remote connection information exists for a particular court, you must still attend in person if this has been ordered by the presiding justice or if the Court’s Mode of Appearance Guidelines require an in-person attendance.
For members of the public and media:
For information about the Court’s policies governing public and media access to remote court proceedings, consult the Court’s Public Access to Court Proceedings Policy and Media Access to Court Proceedings Policy.
For anyone attending a remote proceeding:
It is an offence under section 136 of the Courts of Justice Act, and may constitute contempt of court, to record, photograph, publish or broadcast court proceedings without express permission of the presiding judicial officer. Some proceedings may be subject to publication bans, which make it a criminal offence to publish or broadcast certain information that may be referred to during a court hearing. Attendance and conditions of attendance at a court proceeding remain subject to any judicial direction or order.
Related information
To help to ensure that hearings involving the use of video or telephone communications run effectively, the Court has published a Remote Appearance Code of Conduct. The Guide provides best practices for these types of hearings.
Remote Appearance Code of Conduct
The Ontario Court of Justice holds some court proceedings using the Zoom platform or the JVN (Justice Video Network) WebRTC platform, or by audioconference (telephone):
Zoom Technical User Guide for Remote Hearings
JVN Technical User Guide for Remote Hearings
Virtual appearance information
Unless otherwise directed by a judicial officer, virtual appearances are permitted at certain stages of criminal proceedings. The Court’s Revised Guidelines re Mode of Appearance for Ontario Court of Justice Criminal Proceedings list the modes of appearance permitted at each stage of criminal proceedings.
To access location-specific scheduling and connection information (Zoom links and telephone numbers) for certain criminal courts, enter your courthouse location in the search box below.
Further information about virtual appearances in these courts can be found below.
Criminal case management court
Unless otherwise directed by a judicial officer, accused persons and counsel have the option of appearing in criminal case management court virtually (using Zoom) or in person
More informationJudge-led intensive case management court
Judge-led intensive case management courts can be accessed remotely.
More informationTrial confirmation hearings and trial readiness court
Unless otherwise directed by a judicial officer, accused persons and counsel have the option of appearing in trial readiness court virtually (using Zoom) or in person.
More informationGuilty plea court
Subject to a judge ordering otherwise, accused persons who wish to plead guilty must attend court in-person, except in the following circumstances:
More informationSearch by courthouse location
Interim Observer Policy
The Ontario Court of Justice is committed to upholding the open court principle, which is a hallmark of a democratic society.
Members of the public are welcome to attend any Ontario Court of Justice courthouse in person and observe court proceedings, except for the small number of proceedings where the public is excluded by law or by court order.
Some court proceedings are held in-person only. Others are hybrid, meaning justice participants and others may attend either in-person in the courtroom or virtually. A very small number of court proceedings are virtual only. The Ontario Court of Justice uses Zoom as the platform by which virtual proceedings are conducted.
While there are benefits to hybrid and virtual proceedings, the ability for people to attend virtually also creates a unique risk of misusing the virtual platform, including deliberate disruptions of court proceedings, or so-called “Zoom bombings”. These disruptions are an impermissible attack on the integrity of the justice system and the administration of justice. They can cause unnecessary delays in matters being heard, and can also have lasting, negative impacts for justice participants, court staff, public observers and presiding jurists.
The recent escalation of Zoom bombings in courts across the province has given rise to the need for a formalized Interim Observer Policy for members of the public. Related amendments have been made to the Remote Appearance Code of Conduct.