Frequently Asked Questions

Interpreter and language information
If you or one of your witnesses requires an interpreter, you may request one either by contacting the courthouse in advance of your next court date or notifying the justice of the peace or judge at your next court appearance. Interpreters are provided free of charge.

You can find more information about interpreters on the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website: Get a Court Interpreter.

French preliminary hearing and trial
You have the right to have your preliminary hearing and trial in French. If you require a French preliminary inquiry or French trial, inform the court as soon as you can. More information regarding criminal proceedings can be found in French on Justice pas-à-pas (stepstojustice.ca) and at https://cliquezjustice.ca/.

Legal Aid Ontario’s Criminal legal issues page describes the services available through Legal Aid Ontario (LAO).

You may be eligible for a legal aid certificate that will pay for your own lawyer. Your eligibility may depend on your financial situation, the type of offence with which you are charged and the type of sentence the Crown may seek if you are found guilty.

You can apply for a legal aid certificate online, by phone (1-800-668-8258 or 416-979-1446), or in person. Make sure you have your disclosure when you make an application. Your disclosure is the package of documents you receive from the Crown’s office that includes the synopsis (a police report that summarizes the allegations) and the Charge screening form, which includes the Crown’s position on sentence if you are found guilty of the offence.

Duty counsel are legal aid lawyers assigned to each courthouse. They may be able to assist you if you are not eligible for a legal aid certificate. Duty counsel may assist you during a court appearance. They can provide you with legal advice and information about your court date and the court process, but they may not act as your private counsel. Duty counsel will also assist you with your bail hearing at no cost to you.

You should contact the duty counsel office at your local courthouse before your first appearance in court. You can find contact information for your local duty counsel office by using the Courthouse location and information search tool.

If you are not eligible for a certificate from LAO, you may be eligible for representation by a law student at a Student Legal Service Organization (SLSO). Check to see if there is one in your community. Law students often represent people facing low level criminal charges. They may be able to represent you at no cost to you but are limited to providing representation only in certain cases.

If you have multiple legal issues, such as housing, employment, immigration or workers’ rights, you may want to contact a local community legal aid clinic for assistance. CLEO has prepared a list of these clinics.

If you have a family law issue as well as a criminal law issue, you can contact the LAO Family Law Service Centres. Please also refer to the Family section of our site for more information on going to family court at the Ontario Court of Justice.

If you are Indigenous, you can also contact the Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS) Legal Clinic which offers many resources and supports for anyone who self-identifies as Indigenous.

There is a file kept on every criminal case in the Ontario Court of Justice. You can access your file at the Court Services Division counter at the courthouse where your matter is proceeding. Ontario court addresses and hours of service are listed on the Ministry of the Attorney General website. The file will give you information such as the date and courtroom for your next appearance or who the court reporter or judge was on any of the previous occasions you appeared in court.

The Ontario Court of Justice also publishes daily court lists online. These list adult criminal court cases, including name, time, room number and type of court appearance, for cases scheduled on the current day and the following day.

Some criminal cases are not included on the daily court lists. These include cases subject to public access restrictions, such as youth criminal cases. If you cannot find your case on the daily court list, you should contact the courthouse using the Courthouse location and information search tool.

The Court case search tool, available through Justice Services Online, allows users (anyone with a Service Ontario ONe-key account) to search for Ontario Court of Justice adult criminal court case information, including future court dates and appearance type, by entering an accused person’s name or the information number.

If you are charged with an offence and you are seeking disclosure of the particulars of the criminal case, you or your legal representative should contact the Crown Attorney’s office in the court where the case will be heard. To find contact information for your local courthouse, or Crown Attorney’s office, use the Courthouse location and information search tool.

If you have a complaint about the conduct of a provincially-appointed judge, you may write to the Ontario Judicial Council.

If you have a complaint about the conduct of a justice of the peace, you may write to the Justices of the Peace Review Council.

If you are unhappy with the decision of a judge or justice of the peace in court, you follow the appeal process. You have the right to appeal a conviction, sentence or both within the time fixed by law. A notice of appeal must be served within 30 days after the day of the sentence. You should file your notice sooner rather than later with either the Court of Appeal for Ontario or the Superior Court of Justice. Please consult the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website to determine which court can hear your appeal: https://www.ontario.ca/page/criminal-appeals.

You may be able to schedule a telephone meeting with a Crown Attorney (or prosecutor) to discuss your case. This is often referred to as a “Crown pre-trial”. Please contact the Crown Attorney’s office that is prosecuting your case to determine if you can schedule a Crown pre-trial without a legal representative.

For more information about Crown pre-trials, you should review the Crown pre-trial section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case.

A judicial pre-trial (JPT) is a meeting involving a judge, the Crown Attorney and your lawyer, if you have one. If you do not have a lawyer, you will attend this meeting.

The goal for this hearing is to try to resolve your case or narrow the issues for trial. You and the Crown will address resolution options (for example, withdrawals or guilty pleas), accurate time estimates, and procedural and evidentiary issues that promote the proper use of trial time. For example, if you will be alleging a breach of your rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, you should tell the judge at the judicial pre-trial so that they can schedule sufficient trial time.

Rule 4.2 of the Criminal Rules and the Court’s Judicial Criminal Pre-trial Best Practices notice provide further information about judicial pretrials.

A judicial pretrial may be required before you can schedule a trial in your case. To schedule a judicial pre-trial, you may wish to:

• ask the Crown at your Crown pre-trial to assist you in setting a date for a judicial pre-trial
• if you did not have a Crown pre-trial, you can contact the Crown Attorney’s office to see if they can assist with scheduling a judicial pre-trial
• tell the justice in case management court or the judge in JICMC that you wish to schedule a judicial pre-trial
• contact the courthouse and ask about how to schedule a judicial pre-trial

For more information about judicial pre-trials, you should review the Judicial pre-trial section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case.

In order to prepare for your Crown pre-trial, you should review the Crown pre-trial section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case and the What is a Crown pre-trial? section of the Steps to Justice website.

In order to prepare for your judicial pre-trial, you should review the Judicial pre-trial section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case and the What is a judicial pre-trial? – Steps to Justice.

A judicial pre-trial (JPT) is generally required before you can schedule a trial date. The procedure for setting the trial date will be discussed at the judicial pre-trial. For more information about judicial pre-trials, you should review the judicial pre-trial section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case.

If a judicial pre-trial has been held in your case but you did not discuss how to set a trial date, you can ask about the procedure for setting the trial date at your next court appearance, or you can contact your local courthouse to find out how to set a trial date. You should also consult the Practice Direction: Procedure for Scheduling of Criminal Trials and Preliminary Inquiries.

You should review the Trial section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case.

If you want to sign someone out on bail, you will need to be named as their surety. This involves you attending their bail hearing.

A surety, typically a friend or relative of the accused person, is someone who agrees to be responsible for the accused person until their case is completed. A surety must ensure that the accused person attends court and obeys their bail conditions, and always has a financial obligation – either a promise to pay or, in exceptional circumstances, a deposit.

If the accused person does not comply with a term of their release, fails to appear for court, or is charged with any new offence(s), their surety may have to pay the amount of the release order. If the surety does not have the money, they may be ordered to serve a term of imprisonment.

A surety may attend the courthouse at any time and ask to be relieved of their duties and responsibilities.

If you wish to act as a surety, you should contact the lawyer or the duty counsel assisting the accused person.

More information on the rights and responsibilities of sureties is available at What are a surety’s rights and responsibilities? – Steps to Justice and at Going to criminal court |ontario.ca

You are entitled to receive a copy of the Information and evidence that the Crown has about your case. The Crown must give you everything they have about your case unless it is clearly irrelevant or privileged. This information is called “disclosure”. The prosecutor’s office (the office of the local provincial Crown Attorney or the Federal Crown (Public Prosecution Service of Canada)) usually provides you with your disclosure before or at your first appearance in case management court. This is an ongoing process, however, and you may continue to receive disclosure material after your first court appearance.

It is important to have all the essential documents that are being relied upon before you proceed to trial. Disclosure material could include the following:

• the Information (the formal document that lists the charges)
• the notes of the police officers involved in the arrest and investigation
• surveillance video recordings or photographs
• financial documents
• forensic reports
• witness statements (recorded on audio, video or in writing)
• a synopsis of your case

You should contact the Crown Attorney’s office that is prosecuting your case before your first appearance in case management court to ask them how to get your disclosure. If you have hired a lawyer, they will do this for you. If you do not have a lawyer, you should do this before your first court date because the information in the disclosure will be helpful in applying for Legal Aid, consulting with duty counsel and meeting with a lawyer you are thinking of hiring.

You should review your disclosure to ensure that you can access it. If you experience any difficulties (for example, playing a surveillance video or opening an electronic file), you should contact the Crown Attorney’s office or advise the Court on your next appearance. If you lost your original disclosure and need a new copy or if you think that you should be getting additional disclosure, contact the Crown Attorney’s office.

For any questions about how and where you can obtain your disclosure, contact the Crown Attorney’s office that is handling your case. When you contact the Crown Attorney’s office, be prepared to provide:

• your full name

• your date of birth

• a list of your charges

• the police occurrence number (found on your release papers)

• your email address, telephone number and mailing address

The Crown Attorney’s office should provide you with instructions to create an account to receive disclosure electronically, through the “digital disclosure hub”. This will enable you to receive disclosure on an ongoing basis. In order to create an account, you may be asked to provide identification or other information confirming your identity. If you wish to receive a paper copy of your disclosure, you may contact the Crown’s office in order to request one.

Your disclosure documents may contain sections that have been “blacked out” due to confidentiality concerns or because those portions are irrelevant to your case. If you think that relevant information is missing from your disclosure, you must send a request to the Crown’s office that describes the material you are seeking.

Before you decide to plead guilty, you are strongly encouraged to obtain legal advice. The Finding legal help and representation section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case provides information on how you can obtain legal advice.

Pleading guilty means that you give up your right to a trial and you accept that your actions were against the law. For more information on guilty pleas, you should review this information provided by Legal Aid Ontario: Guilty pleas – Legal Aid Ontario.

Some court locations require you to schedule your guilty plea date in advance. A legal professional may be able to assist you in arranging this date. If you do not have access to a legal professional, you can contact the Crown Attorney’s office to set a date to plead guilty. You should be prepared to provide the Crown with the following information:

• your full name

• your date of birth

• a list of your charges

• the police occurrence number (found on your release papers)

• your next court date

• the date you would like to plead guilty

If you are unable to speak with the Crown or a legal professional, you should indicate at your next court appearance that you wish to schedule a date to plead guilty.

If you decide to plead guilty, the judge will accept your guilty plea only if they are satisfied that:

• you are making the plea voluntarily

• you understand that the plea is an admission of all the essential elements of the offence

• you understand the nature and consequences of the plea

• you understand that the judge is not bound by any agreement you made with the Crown, including what sentence should be imposed

If the judge is not satisfied about any of the above issues, they may decide not to accept your guilty plea.

If the judge accepts your guilty plea and you are found guilty, the judge may either sentence you immediately or adjourn sentencing to another date. The Sentencing section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case provides more information about the sentencing process.

You always have the right to plead not guilty and to have a trial. You also have the right to give up your right to have a trial and to plead guilty at any time. If you have a trial date and decide ahead of time that you want to plead guilty, notify the Crown Attorney’s Office as soon as possible.

To find Zoom connection information, use the Courthouse location and information search tool. Enter the location of your local courthouse and click on Virtual Appearance Information.

It is very important to note 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.

If you need connection information for a court that is not contained in the “Virtual Appearance Information section” section of the Courthouse Location and Information search tool, contact the courthouse.

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.

It is very important to note 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.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act provides young persons (12-17 years old) with special rights and protections. If you are a young person who has been charged with a criminal offence, you or your parent or guardian should apply to Legal Aid Ontario for a legal aid certificate that you can use to hire a lawyer. If you want to hire a lawyer to represent you, but have been denied a legal aid certificate, you can appeal the decision or ask to have the matter brought before a judge to explain why you cannot afford to hire a lawyer. The judge may order a referral to Legal Aid for the appointment of counsel.

You or your guardian or parent may wish to contact Justice For Children and Youth (JFCY), which is a legal clinic that gives free legal advice to any young person in Ontario. JFCY also can help to connect you with a lawyer in your community. You can call JFCY at 416-920-1633 or toll free at 1-866-999-5329. More information regarding young persons and the criminal justice system can be found on the Justice for Children and Youth website.

Once the trial date is set, it is expected to proceed unless a judge grants an adjournment. If you do not have a lawyer when the trial date is set, the judge may order that the trial date be set “with or without counsel”. This means that your trial will proceed even if you have not hired a lawyer or paralegal to represent you.

Applications for adjournments should use the Notice of Application form and must comply with Rules 2 and 3 of the Criminal Rules and the Practice Direction: Serving and Filing Criminal Court Documents. This means that unless a judge orders otherwise, adjournment application materials must be served and filed at least 90 days prior to the trial date, and the application must be heard at least 60 days before the trial. The Crown may either oppose your application, or consent to the trial being adjourned.

If you cannot attend on a scheduled court date, someone else on your behalf will have to appear in court to explain why and to ask for an adjournment. If it is a trial date and the judge does not adjourn the case, your trial might go ahead, and you might be found guilty in your absence.

If you do not attend court as required, a warrant for your immediate arrest may be issued. You may also be charged with the criminal offence of failing to appear in court and held in custody for a bail hearing.

The process for varying the conditions of your release order, or the conditions in an undertaking to the police, depends on whether the change is on consent (meaning both you and the Crown agree to the change) or whether the Crown is opposed to the proposed variation.

Consent variation procedure

Your lawyer, or in some cases duty counsel, can speak to the Crown on your behalf about whether they will agree to vary the conditions of your release order, and can assist you in filling out the forms below. If you do not have a lawyer and are not sure whether the Crown will consent to the change, you can fill out the forms below and submit them to the Crown to review.

If the Crown consents to a variation of your release order, you must fill out the Application for Consent Variation of Bail form. If the Crown consents to vary your undertaking to the police, you must fill out an Application for Consent Variation of Police Undertaking form.

If you have been released on a bail order with any sureties, your sureties must also consent to the proposed change(s) and they must complete Part 2 of the Application for Consent Variation of Bail form. Your lawyer, if you have one, must complete Part 3 of the form. If you are applying to change an undertaking to the police, your lawyer, if you have one, must complete Part 2 of the Application for Consent Variation of Police Undertaking form.

You may submit your completed forms to the Crown Attorney’s Office in person or by email. Contact information for local Crown Attorneys’ Offices can be found using the Courthouse location and information search tool.

If your request to vary your release order is granted, a copy will be sent to you by email. To take effect, a bail variation form must include the Crown Attorney’s consent and the written authorization of a judicial official. Keep it with the original release order.

More information about this procedure can be found in the Court’s Consent Variation Procedures for Release Orders and Police Undertakings in the Ontario Court of Justice notice.

Contested variation procedure

If the Crown does not consent to your proposed variation(s), you may bring a court application asking a judge to change your conditions. The type of application depends on whether you were released on a police undertaking or a court-issued release order.

If you want to vary a condition on a police undertaking, and the Crown does not consent, you can bring an application in the Ontario Court of Justice under s. 502(2) of the Criminal Code by completing a Form 1: Application. You must serve and file this application in accordance with the Rules 2 and 3 of the Criminal Rules of the Ontario Court of Justice and the rules set out in the Practice Direction: Serving and Filing Criminal Court Documents.

If you are seeking to vary a condition on a court-ordered release, and the Crown does not consent, you can bring an application for a bail review in the Superior Court of Justice under s. 520 of the Criminal Code. The requirements for this application are set out in Rule 20 of the Criminal Proceedings Rules for the Superior Court of Justice.

You are encouraged to seek legal advice and contact your local courthouse to determine when your application can be scheduled for a court hearing.

You can raise any issues or problems in connection with your case at your next court appearance.

If you have an urgent matter than cannot wait until your next court appearance, please speak with your lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, please contact Legal Aid Ontario at 1-800-668- 8258 for assistance in submitting a request to have your matter brought before the Court.

Requests to bring a matter forward may need to be approved by a judicial official. If you do not have access to a legal professional, you can contact the Crown Attorney’s office to set a date to speak to the court by providing the following information:

• your full name
• your date of birth
• a list of your charges
• the police occurrence number (found on your release papers)
• your next court date
• the date you would like to speak to the court
• the reason your case requires urgent attention

In order to prepare for your appearance in case management court, you should review the What to do before your first appearance in case management court section of the step-by-step guide to a criminal case.

If you have an urgent matter than cannot wait until your next court appearance, please speak with your lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, please contact Legal Aid Ontario at 1-800-668-8258 for assistance in submitting a request to have your matter brought before the Court.

Requests to bring a matter forward may need to be approved by a judicial official. If you do not have access to a legal professional, you can contact the Crown Attorney’s office to set a date to speak to the court by providing the following information:
⦁ your full name
⦁ your date of birth
⦁ a list of your charges
⦁ the police occurrence number (found on your release papers)
⦁ your next court date
⦁ the date you would like to speak to the court
⦁ the reason your case requires urgent attention