Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Outline the initial stages of a criminal prosecution including: how a complaint comes to be investigated, the Crown counsel charge assessment standard and Crown discretion in determining what, if any charges are prosecuted, and the essential differences between the roles of investigators on one hand and prosecutors on the other.
• Outline the fundamental legal principles that must govern all criminal trials in Canada, and the respective roles of Crown Counsel and defence counsel.
• Outline and interpret the differences between Summary and Indictable offences in the Criminal Code and discuss the modes of trial available to an accused person depending on the type of offence they are facing.
• Discriminate between the Criminal Code sections dealing with compelling the attendance of an accused person to court.
• Outline the law of Judicial Interim Release (bail) with particular regard to the legal principles and practical aspects pre-trial release, the role the investigation of the offence plays in judicial interim release proceedings, and the inter-relationship between the result of a bail hearing (detention or release) and the timing and object of any ongoing investigation.
• Outline, in detail, all procedural aspects related to the Preliminary Inquiry, the purpose or goal of a preliminary inquiry from both Crown and defence perspectives, and the impact on witnesses including forensic professionals.
• Outline each procedural element of a criminal trial (jury trials and Judge alone trials) from the opening statement through to verdict and sentencing.
• Compare various perspectives of the Canadian criminal justice system other than those of counsel for the Crown and defence, and why the honesty and good faith of the investigators and consequent integrity of the criminal investigation is crucial to our system.
• Analyze trial strategies and tactics used by both Crown and defence counsel.

Effective as of Fall 2010