Judicial Pretrial
A judicial pre-trial is a meeting, held off the record, between the Crown, defence counsel and a judge. A judicial pre-trial can serve many purposes, depending on the trajectory of the case. A judicial pre-trial will typically be held sometime after a Crown pre-trial. A judicial pre-trial provides an opportunity for the Crown and defence counsel to engage in discussions with a judge, off the record, to gain insight or guidance on various issues in their case. It is not always necessary to have a judicial pre-trial. In many minor cases, a judicial pre-trial is never conducted and a Crown pre-trial alone is sufficient.
Where an accused intends to plead guilty to an offence and the Crown and defence counsel have come to a joint position on penalty, they may use a judicial pre-trial as an opportunity to run the position past a judge off the record to determine whether the position will be accepted. Similarly, where the Crown and defence counsel cannot come to an agreement on penalty, a judicial pre-trial provides an opportunity for both counsels to get input from the judge on their respective positions on penalty. This way, the accused has a better idea of what their penalty will be prior to pleading guilty.
Where an accused intends to set the matter down for trial, a judicial pre-trial is often used an as opportunity to discuss issues in the trial, trial estimates, possible witnesses, disclosure issues and/or possible pre-trial motions.
More Legal Information
In criminal cases, there are very strict rules governing what evidence can be used and how it can be used.
The rights enjoyed of all those within Canada are contained in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Criminal procedure is the process by which an accused person is arrested and brought through the justice system.
Sentencing refers to the punishment that is ordered when an individual is found guilty of a criminal offence.
