Progression of a Criminal Case through the Court System

This article is a basic summary of the procedure for criminal cases in the Provincial Court of British Columbia in the Greater Vancouver Area. It is meant to be a guide for someone charged with a criminal offence for the first time and what that person may expect as his case moves through the court system from initial appearance to final disposition.

A person alleged to have committed a criminal offence may be served with a document directing his appearance before the court. In circumstances where a person has not been arrested and taken into custody by the police, he will receive a summons or an appearance notice.

If he has been arrested and taken into custody, he may be released prior to an actual court appearance by means of a promise to appear, or by a recognizance. The person may also be required to provide an undertaking to abide by certain conditions before he will be released. Examples of some of the more common conditions are such things as remaining within the jurisdiction of the court, reporting to a bail supervisor, abstaining from contacting a named individual, etc.

Each of the documents referred to above will set out the intended charge as well as the location, date and time of the initial court appearance. They may also direct an attendance pursuant to the Identification of Criminals Act for fingerprinting and photographs prior to the initial court appearance. They will also set out the consequences of failing to appear for court or fingerprinting. If a person fails to attend as directed, a warrant could be issued for his arrest to bring him before the court. There is also provision in the Criminal Code for the person to be charged with a separate offence of failing to appear.

Of course there are circumstances where an individual arrested and detained by the police will not be released prior to an actual court appearance before a judge, who will make a decision whether he will be released and if so, whether there will be conditions attached to the release. Some of the factors that could lead to a person having to appear before a judge to seek his release would be if he was facing a serious criminal charge, had a criminal record, had failed to appear in court on a prior occasion, had breached previous bail conditions, was resident outside of the jurisdiction, etc. An in depth discussion of bail or judicial interim release, as it is referred to in the Criminal Code, is not within the scope of this article.

Assuming that a person is not in custody, his initial court appearance will usually be in a small courtroom or initial appearance room before a justice of the peace. The accused person will usually be presented with “disclosure” at this appearance which consists of documentation including a police report setting out the particulars of the charge. Usually there will also be a document setting out the position of Crown Counsel (the prosecutor) on sentence in the event of an early guilty plea. The Justice of the Peace will inquire whether the person charged wishes to consult a lawyer if he has not already done so and usually the case is adjourned for a week or two for this purpose. Occasionally a person may wish to deal with the matter himself without being represented by a lawyer and if so the case is adjourned to another courtroom for either a guilty plea or to arrange a date for trial.

If the individual wishes to receive legal advice prior to the next court appearance, he will take the disclosure documentation to a lawyer who will review it and interview the person about his background and the circumstances leading up to the alleged offence. The lawyer will then usually be in a position to offer the person advice on the different options available to the accused for dealing with his case in court. During this meeting the lawyer will usually be in a position to provide the person with information regarding the cost of legal representation.

Although the lawyer may provide an initial consultation free of charge or for a nominal fee, he will usually require a retainer (partial payment of his fee) prior to attending court for the client. Lawyers generally charge fixed fees for criminal matters with complex cases being more expensive than routine matters. If the Client meets certain financial criteria, he may be eligible for legal aid and can make application for coverage prior to his first court appearance or at the courthouse on the day of his attendance.

After a person has retained a lawyer or has decided to represent himself, the next court appearance will be an arraignment hearing. During this court appearance, it will be determined if the accused intends to plead guilty to the offence or whether there will be a trial. If the matter is to proceed to trial, it will be necessary to discuss other matters, the most important of which is the time estimate for the trial so that sufficient court time can be set aside. For certain charges there is the option to have the trial in Supreme Court instead of Provincial Court. The judge at the arraignment hearing will usually want an election from the accused as to his mode of trial. If the trial is to be in Supreme Court, a preliminary inquiry will take place in Provincial Court, in order to determine if there is sufficient evidence for the accused to actually stand trial.

At the conclusion of the arraignment hearing, a date will be scheduled by a trial coordinator for the trial or preliminary inquiry, which will likely be many months in the future because of the busy court schedule. About a month prior to the trial or preliminary inquiry, there is yet another appearance required which is referred to as a trial confirmation hearing. The purpose of this appearance is to ensure that the trial or preliminary hearing will be proceeding on the scheduled date and to determine if the time estimate is still accurate.

These are the usual steps taken from the initial appearance to final disposition of the charge in the Provincial Court of British Columbia and it is hoped that this article will be helpful to individuals charged with an offense who are not familiar with the court system.

By Stuart Lein
December, 2006