Explaining Adult Charge Screening Forms for Lay People
In Ontario, everyone charged with a criminal offence will receive disclosure at some point in the early phase of their case. Disclosure consists of the evidence upon which the Crown Attorney will rely to prosecute a case. Each accused person is constitutionally entitled to obtain Disclosure from the Crown before making crucial decisions in their case.
One document that is often provided in disclosure, and is quite crucial to understand, is called an Adult Charge Screening Form. This form is used in prosecutions of criminal charges for individuals 18 or over.
What is a Charge Screening Form?
A Charge Screening Form is a document prepared by the Crown who conducts an initial review of a criminal case. The form usually contains five (5) separate categories under which the Crown will provide it’s “position” based on that initial review. Their position on these items can be helpful to an individual who receives initial Disclosure in many ways, including by understanding what charges the Crown will proceed on and what the sentence or outcome the Crown would be seeking is. Below, I will go through each of the five categories on which the Crown provides it’s position, and clarify what each section means or refers to.
Category 1 – Which Charges the Crown Intends to Proceed On
At the very top of the page, there will be a box with the “charges” listed. These are the charges the police laid. The Crown can make decisions to proceed on some, none or all of those charges, and will indicate it’s position under the first part of the Adult Charge Screening Form. There are two boxes:
- As charged above
- As follows:
If the Crown intends to proceed on all the charges the police have laid, they will check off the first box. If they do not intend to proceed on all of the charges, they will check off “As follows:” and then indicate which charges they will be proceeding on.
Category 2 – The Crown’s Election
An election in criminal law does not involve any voting! It consists of a more precise and complicated legal concept, which requires some explanation. To understand this part of the Charge Screening Form, it would be helpful to understand the “types” or “categories” of criminal charges in Canada — a topic on which another Blog Post touches.
There are four boxes that exist here:
- Summarily
- By indictment
- Summarily if limitation period waived
- Deferred
As indicated in the Blog Posted linked above, some criminal offences are summary conviction, some are indictable but most can be either (called hybrid offences). For the vast majority of (hybrid) offences, the Crown must elect how to treat the offence. The more serious the offence, the more likely the Crown will elect by indictment (which triggers the possibility for lengthier and more punitive sentences); the less serious the offence, the more likely the Crown will elect by summary conviction (which limits the maximum punishments to numbers far below indictable offences).
The Crown will check off the box that corresponds to the election they are making in your case. If they are unsure, they will note it as “deferred”.
In some cases, they prefer to proceed by Summary Conviction, given perhaps the lack of complexity or seriousness to the matter, but cannot do so if the police have laid the charges outside the Summary Conviction Limitation Period (which is 12 months). Someone can “waive” that limitation period in order to allow the Crown to proceed by Summary Conviction. Legal Advice should always be obtained before making these critical types of decisions.
Category 3 – Possible Diversion Options
Under category three, the Crown has a list of five (5) boxes to choose from that involve specific types of “programs” that the court operates, that usually leads to some form of diversion (or funneling of a criminal charge out of the court system without a trial). I will not go through each one, individually, but if the Crown has checked one of these boxes, that usually means that they are in agreement that the case does not require a trial, and that the accused should not be penalized with a criminal record. Before accepting any one of these “offers”, it is critical you consult with a Toronto Criminal Lawyer, as even these can have significant implications.
Category 4 – The Crown Position on Sentence or Punishment
Here, the Crown will indicate its position on punishment or sentence upon an early guilty plea. For example, the Crown will stipulate whether its looking for a Discharge, Probation, a Conditional Sentence, a fine or Jail. this position is subject to change, but does provide some indication as to the seriousness with which the Crown is treating a case. It is critical to review the Crown’s position with an experienced Criminal Defence Lawyer in Toronto, as each position involves legal nuances and implications that are far reaching.
Category 5 – Ancillary Orders
An ancillary order is an order that a Court can make during a sentencing hearing. These orders range from DNA samples, weapons prohibitions to entries on sexual offender registries. These Orders are not “sentences” per se, but are Orders tacked on to a sentence. It is important to understand that some Orders a Court can make are discretionary (optional) and some are not. If an Order is discretionary, you should be aware of what arguments can be made to a Judge to try and avoid being the subject of that particular Order.
