Criminal Court Matters
Paralegals in Ontario are authorized to represent Defendants in Criminal Court on Summary matters only (charges for which the Criminal Code assigns a fine $5,000.00 and up to a maximum of 6 months incarceration).
PARALEGALS CAN REPRESENT YOU IN THE FOLLOWING CHARGES:
Domestic Assault, Theft under $5,000.00, Fraud under $5,000.00, Robbery, Mischief and any other charges that are classified as Summary charges.
FOR SUPER-SUMMARY AND INDICTABLE CHARGES YOU NEED TO BE REPRESENTED BY A LAWYER!
Super-summary charges are those usually related to alcohol and may carry a fine of $1,000.00 and up to 18 months of incarceration if you are found guilty)
Indictable charges are those for which the fine is less than $5,000.00 and the incarceration can be for more than 6 months (and which are not super-summary charges).
DO NOT TAKE CHANCES WITH YOUR FREEDOM! – ALWAYS CONSULT BEFORE YOU DECIDE
Offence Notice
“OFFENCE NOTICE”
This is the most common way to be charged in Ontario. The maximum fine when charged with a ticket cannot exceed $500.00 and there is no possibility of jail time (See the replica in the box on the side).
“SUMMONS TO APPEAR”
The Summons to Appear” contains a Court date and the address of the Court to which you must attend answer to the charge. The reason why sometimes the Police charge an individual with a Summons to Appear as opposed to a regular Offence Notice is that the range of penalties is much higher and the other penalties may be far more serious, such as a maximum fine of $5,000.00, up to six months of incarceration and sometimes suspension of the Driver’s Licence.
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY YOU (ABSOLUTE CONFIDENTIALITY ASSURED):
- What were you charged with?
- Your Name
- Your Full Address
- Your Telephone No.
- Your Email Address
- Date of the Offence
- Where did the Police stop you?
- Ticket Number (located at the top)
- Total Fine Payable
- (If a Summons to Appear) Location of the Court where you are to appear?
- (If a Summons to Appear) Date and time when you must appear
- (If a Summons to Appear) Courtroom number where you must appear