I ve Been Charged With an Offence: What Now? Getting a Lawyer If the police have charged you with a criminal, drug or Youth Criminal Justice offence and you have been given a court date down the road: You should contact the Nova Scotia Legal Aid Office in the community where you are required to appear in court: Legal Aid Offices. You will then be assigned a lawyer who will represent you in court. You will be provided with a lawyer based on your income only not that of your family or guardians. This ensures that you are able to get a lawyer regardless of your family s circumstances and makes it clear that you are the client, not your parent/guardian. It is important to call Legal Aid as soon as possible to be sure you have a lawyer in court with you from your first appearance. Even if you think you know what you want to do in court, it is still important to get a lawyer. You may have options available to that you didn t know about and this is what a lawyer could do: Help negotiate guilty pleas or sentence in advance of entering a guilty plea to get you a better result; Last Updated: February 2015 Page 1 of 8
The lawyer may see defences to the charges you weren t aware of; At the very least, a lawyer can explain the process to you and help you speak to the court in most helpful way; The lawyer will also get a complete copy of the Crown Attorney s file containing all of the police evidence against you (called Disclosure) to review with you. In some cases, usually if you have a criminal record or are charged with a serious offence, the police will not release you with a court date, but rather will hold you and bring you straight to court to have a Judge determine whether you should be released and, if so, on what conditions. If this happens: The police will provide your parent or guardian with notice that you have been charged and will be appearing in court. When you arrive at court, a Duty Counsel Lawyer will be expecting you and will be there to represent you for your Bail Hearing. This lawyer will get information about your plan, negotiate with the Crown Attorney and, if necessary, conduct your Bail Hearing where release cannot be agreed upon. Once charged, you may be placed on conditions by the police or the court (release conditions) in the form of an Undertaking or Recognizance. If you are bound by any release conditions, it is important to remember that they stay in force until your charges are completely dealt with, or until the Judge orders a change after a hearing. If you are found to be in breach of any of your conditions you can be charged with a new criminal offence. Last Updated: February 2015 Page 2 of 8
Appearing In Court The first court appearance is called an Arraignment. At the first appearance the court will: Read the charges to you; Confirm your date of birth to be sure you are a youth; Confirm your parent or guardian is aware you are before the court; and, Let you know what to do if you do not already have a lawyer. If your matter is fairly simple, sometimes Duty Counsel can help you resolve it at the first appearance with a referral to Restorative Justice (see below). More often, your matter will be adjourned to a new court date so your plea can be entered after you have had the chance to review the Disclosure and get legal advice. It is very important to make and keep an appointment with your lawyer so are ready to enter your plea at your next court date. At you plea date, as long as your lawyer has been provided with all of the material they need to review with you by the Crown Attorney, 3 different things can happen: 1. You can enter a guilty plea to some or all charges. If guilty pleas are entered, you will be sentenced by the Judge, usually after Probation Services prepare a Pre-Sentence Report for the court; 2. You can enter not guilty pleas to the charges. If you plead not guilty, a Trial date will be set; or, Last Updated: February 2015 Page 3 of 8
3. You can be referred to Restorative Justice. If you accept a referral to Restorative Justice, your matter will be adjourned without plea to give you time to complete the program. Restorative Justice Restorative Justice allows youth charged with offences to take responsibility outside the formal court system. The Program is different for everyone and can include victim input and participation. The goals of the Program include rehabilitation of the youth and addressing harm to victim and community. There are several ways to become involved with the Restorative Justice Program. If the police feel they have enough evidence to charge you with an offence and feel you are prepared to take responsibility, they can refer you straight to Restorative Justice rather than make you go to court. If you complete the Program, you will not be given a court date and will not receive a conviction for the offence(s). There will still be a record kept of your referral for a period of time so if you get in trouble again the police and Crown Attorney will be aware of the matter. If you are formally charged and required to appear in court, you can still be referred to Restorative Justice if the Crown Attorney agrees: 1. There is enough evidence against you to proceed; 2. You are willing to take responsibility; and, 3. The Crown feels it is not against the public interest. Last Updated: February 2015 Page 4 of 8
Your lawyer can negotiate this referral with the Crown Attorney. If you are referred, and successfully complete the Program, the charge(s) against you will be dismissed so you will not be sentenced or have a conviction on your record. Even though the charge(s) is dismissed, there will still be a record kept of your referral for a period of time so if you get in trouble again the police and Crown Attorney will be aware of the matter. If you do not successfully complete the Program, you will be required to enter a plea in court. For more information about the Nova Scotia Program visit website: Restorative Justice Program or In Halifax, visit the Community Justice Society website as they run the program in the Halifax region: Community Justice Society. Trial In Canada, everyone who is charged with a crime is presumed to be innocent and has the right to go to Trial to have the charges against them proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Your lawyer can help you decide whether this is the right choice for you. If you have a Trial: The Crown Attorney will call witnesses identified by the police to testify (give evidence) in court; Last Updated: February 2015 Page 5 of 8
Your lawyer will have the chance to cross-examine the Crown s witnesses; Once the Crown has called all of their evidence, you have the option of calling evidence and/or testifying yourself to tell the Court your side of the story; Once all of the evidence has been presented, the Judge will decide whether the Crown has proven your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; If the Court has some doubt about your guilt, you will be found not guilty and will be acquitted. If the Judge is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty, you will be convicted and will then be sentenced. Plea Bargains If, after reviewing the Disclosure, you agree that you are guilty of the crime(s) and that the Crown could prove your guilt to a court, you may want your lawyer to negotiate a plea bargain with the Crown Attorney. Your lawyer may be able to reach an agreement for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge than the one initially before the court, or if you are charged with more than one offence, to reach an agreement for some of the charges to be withdrawn if you plead guilty to others. Sometimes, your lawyer can also negotiate your sentence in advance of the guilty plea(s). This is why it is important to have a lawyer even if you think you want to plead guilty. It is important to remember that the Judge always makes the final decision on sentence even when the lawyers have agreed to a joint recommendation. Last Updated: February 2015 Page 6 of 8
Sentencing If you plead guilty, or are found guilty after a trial, you will be sentenced by the Judge. The sentence is your consequence for committing the offence. In Youth Court, the purpose of sentencing is not to punish, but to provide meaningful consequences that hold you accountable and provide the best chance of keeping you out of trouble in the future. In Nova Scotia, under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, there are 13 different available sentences for youth found guilty of offences other than murder. Some of these sentences can keep you from having a conviction on your record. Records are kept different periods of time depending on the sentence. Some of the available sentences are: Reprimands a court essentially gives you a lecture, but nothing further is required of you. A record of this sentence is only kept for 2 months. Conditional Discharge the court places you on conditions for a period of time, but as long as you complete the discharge period with no further trouble, no conviction will enter on your record. Probation the court places you on conditions which usually include a requirement to report to a Probation Officer. Community service work. Fine you must be able to demonstrate to the court an ability to pay the fine yourself. Last Updated: February 2015 Page 7 of 8
Deferred Custody a jail sentence that you are allowed to serve in the community for as long as you follow the courtordered conditions. Custody and Supervision Order a jail sentence, 2/3 of which will be served at the Nova Scotia Youth Facility in Waterville and 1/3 of which will be served in the community under supervised conditions. Your lawyer will be able to help you decide which sentence is the best one to recommend to the Judge. Your lawyer will tell the Court about you, your family, your plans, your education, your willingness to attend programs or counselling and other information that is important for the Judge to know before deciding your sentence. Disclaimer: This site contains general legal information for residents of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal problem. Last Updated: February 2015 Page 8 of 8