Your first court date on a criminal matter happens in what is called “docket court.” Docket Court is, essentially, “housekeeping court.” No trial or guilty plea is expected to occur on your first appearance, nor will you be required to make an election (if applicable) or enter a plea. For the vast majority of first appearances, the accused appears self-represented and asks the Court for more time to find a lawyer, which is always granted for a first-appearance. If the accused already has a lawyer, that lawyer almost always asks for additional time to obtain and review disclosure with their client to decide how to proceed. In rare circumstances, or where time is of the essence (i.e., in Domestic Assault allegations) a lawyer can obtain a trial date on the first appearance in order to ensure that the charges are dealt with as soon as possible, to minimize time spent on strict conditions.

If you are arrested for a criminal offence or there is a warrant out for your arrest, you must provide the police with your name, date of birth, and current address (i.e., the information on your driver's license, assuming it is up-to-date). If you are under arrest, do not provide a statement to the police about the allegations. Regardless of the allegations, do not make small talk with the police. Do not disclose where you work, who your friends are, or where you were on a certain date. Without knowing the exact charges and evidence against you, it is best to not speak with the police until you have had the chance to review the evidence with your Edmonton Criminal Lawyer.

If you are being investigated for a criminal (or quasi-criminal) offence, the first thing an Edmonton Criminal Lawyer is going to tell you is not to speak with the police about the allegations. If you are approached or contacted by an officer, ask them whether you are under arrest. If not, advise them that you will not be providing a statement or interacting with them any further and leave or hang up.

If you’ve been arrested for a criminal offence, you have the right to appear before a Justice of the Peace within 24 hours of your arrest. In the vast majority of cases, however, the police will simply release you a few hours after your arrest and provide you with paperwork that tells you when your first courtdate is. If you are held for a bail hearing, in Alberta we have Duty Counsel for first instance bail hearings that will be able to assist you with this process for free. In rare cases, the Crown will apply to adjourn (i.e. delay) your bail hearing beyond the 24 hours in order to adequately prepare. However, this is only done for extremely serious charges. If you have been charged with murder, you can expect that it will take about a month or two to get bail, as it is best to get a good amount of disclosure first before setting a special bail hearing in the Alberta Court of King’s Bench.

“Disclosure” refers to all of the evidence that the Crown has against you in relation to a particular set of charges. It will include all witness statements, police notes, video footage, DNA tests, and any other evidence the Crown may have against you. The Crown is required to provide you and your lawyer with all of the information they have, regardless of whether it points to your guilt or innocence. Unless it is “clearly irrelevant,” the Crown must include it in their disclosure package to you. In the Edmonton region, disclosure usually takes about six (6) to ten (10) weeks to be provided. That is because it is first obtained by the police, then submitted to the Crown for vetting, and then uploaded to an online portal for your lawyer to download. As soon as it becomes available, your lawyer will receive an email notifying them that it is ready for download.

Once your matter has been set for trial, or even before (i.e., as soon as you are charged), the first thing you should do is write down everything that you remember about what happened during that period of time. Do not share your side of the story with anyone, especially with the police or other potential witnesses. You do not want to be accused of colluding or influencing other witnesses. However, as months, sometimes years, can pass before you get to trial, it is important to preserve your own memory in case you decide to testify in your defence. As you get closer to the trial date, you may want to gather relevant defence witnesses and prepare yourself to testify. For proper trial preparation, however, you will need an experienced Edmonton criminal lawyer.

If you have been convicted and want to appeal, you must file your Notice of Appeal to the appropriate court within 30 days of being sentenced. While you can file your Notice of Appeal prior to being sentenced, depending on your personal situation, you may not want to. However, if you are facing a period of imprisonment, filing your Notice of Appeal early may allow you to avoid spending time in jail waiting for your appeal. To decide which option is right for you, contact an experienced Edmonton criminal lawyer at Purser Law.

Regardless of whether you want to appeal or not, it is important to still try to obtain the best possible sentence in case you are unsuccessful on appeal. In order to obtain the most favorable sentence, you should do your best to make yourself a productive and contributing member of society. If you do not have a job, get one. If you would like to go to school, apply and start. If you were convicted of a violent offence, take a domestic violence course. As a general rule, any steps taken towards your own rehabilitation to ensure that the offence never happens again will be mitigating and will lessen your sentence. For advice on your specific case, contact an experienced Edmonton criminal lawyer at Purser Law.

The timeline for your appeal is going to vary significantly depending on which level of court you are required to appeal to: the Alberta Court of Appeal or the Alberta Court of King’s Bench. However, the first step in any appeal is to order the trial transcripts so that the higher court knows exactly what happened at trial. If exhibits were filed, you will also want to order copies of those to complete the record in the court below. Once the entire trial record is obtained, your Edmonton criminal lawyer will review the record for possible errors and conduct any legal research required. Once that has been done, they will prepare their written argument, known as a factum. Once the appellant's factum has been filed, the respondent (usually the Crown) will have time to file their response before oral argument. At oral argument, the parties will argue their side before the judge(s) who will ultimately decide the appeal.

Unfortunately, once oral arguments on an appeal have been heard, unlike in getting a matter to trial, there are no strict deadlines as to when a court must render a decision. Sometimes, a decision can be made from the bench (i.e., immediately). Other times, the decision comes within a few days or a week. Not uncommonly, a decision is not rendered for months or even a year after oral arguments have been heard. At the Alberta Court of Appeal, you are often only given several days' notice that a decision is going to be rendered (and that, if unsuccessful, you will have to finish serving your sentence). This can be a particularly stressful time. To reduce stress, it is important that you hire an experienced Edmonton criminal lawyer.