Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer: Summary of Steps in a Domestic Violence Case

Charged with a Domestic Violence offence in Toronto, Ontario?  Is it your first criminal offence you are dealing with?  You are probably confused at what the process you’ll face in court.  The following is a list of all the crucial steps in a Toronto Domestic Violence Case. 

As a practicing Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer for over 10 years, there is a pattern to the sequence of steps in a Domestic Violence matter, starting with the arrest and charging process.

Step 1 – Arrest and Charging Process

The first, and most obvious, step in a Domestic Violence Case in Toronto would be the process of being arrested and charged by police.  This typically means that your liberty is temporarily restrained, whereby the police inform you of the Domestic Violence charges you will have to answer to.  Some of these charges include:

• Domestic Assault
• Domestic Assault with Weapon
• Domestic Assault Causing Bodily Harm
• Domestic Aggravated Assault
• Domestic Sexual Assault

During this phase, you will either be released by the police on an Undertaking to a Peace Officer or held for a show cause (or bail hearing).  It’s important you speak to a Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer when the police initially get involved, as you do not want to say something that will impair your defence during the court process.  An experienced Domestic Violence Lawyer in Ontario will be able to guide you carefully during this phase.

Step 2 – The First Appearance

Once you have been arrested and charged for a Domestic Violence related offence in Toronto, you will be assigned a first appearance in court.  The first appearance is considered a “case management” appearance and not a trial date, nor a date on which you would be expected to enter a plea or to discuss the legal aspects of your case.  The first appearance is for the Court to typically confirm some of the following points:

• Whether you have requested and/or received disclosure from the Crown Attorney
• Whether you have retained a Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer, or whether you plan to
• How much time you need to accomplish either of the above steps (generally, 4-5 weeks is the period provided by most Courts in Ontario to do

Once you have been issued a first court date, it makes sense to begin your process in retaining a Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer.  The earlier you do this, the earlier you and your lawyer can come up with a plan or strategy to employ in your case.

Step 3 – The Crown Pre-trial Meeting

The next step after a first appearance, assuming you or your Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer have received disclosure is a meeting with the prosecutor, called a Crown pre-trial meeting.  This is a meeting where a number of important issues are discussed, including:

• Whether there is outstanding disclosure still
• Whether the case can be resolved, and what the respective positions are of both sides
• Whether the case is proceeding to trial and what the trial issues are

It is always best to “lawyer up” at these meetings, given how critical they are.  A Domestic Violence Lawyer in Ontario will be more equipped to deal with all the issues and to negotiate on your behalf.

Step 4 – Bail / Undertaking Variations and Counselling Enrollment

This step is unique to Domestic Violence cases. When an accused is charged with Domestic Violence Charges in Toronto, s/he will often be placed on conditions to have no contact with the other party, often a husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend.  These conditions remain in effect until one of two things happens – the case is complete or a variation takes place of those conditions.  One way to vary conditions to allow parties to have contact with one another again is on the consent of the Crown. 

The consent of the Crown can be obtained, in principle, at a Crown pre-trial meeting (see Step 3) for this to take place.  The consent is typically obtained where the following circumstances all coincide:

• At the Crown pre-trial meeting, an agreement as to how the case can be resolved is reached
• The victim has provided input saying that they wish to have contact with the accused again
• The accused is willing to complete counselling in order to re-unite with their partner, and in fact starts that counselling

So, after the Crown pre-trial, often time these three situations coincide and the accused can have their conditions amended to allow them to reunite with their partner.  This is a crucial step in the case, as the accused can then finalize the remaining steps of the court process while in contact with their loved one.

An experienced Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer will be able to best guide you on what strategy to employ in order to finalize Step 4 in the quickest way possible. It is legally possible that Step 4 occur in a different order if very efficient and prompt work is put in by the Toronto Criminal Lawyer.

Step 5 – Resolution of Case or Trial

Once the pre-trial meeting is complete, your Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer or Domestic Violence Lawyer in Ontario will have a better sense of your legal options, and whether your case can be resolved in a way you are satisfied with, or whether a trial would be required.

Examples of resolutions to a Domestic Violence case in Toronto include:

• Your charges being withdrawn or dropped
• Your charges being withdrawn or dropped by way of a peace bond
• You entering a guilty plea and seeking an Absolute or Conditional Discharge

If your case is not resolvable, a trial may be the only course of action you can take.  A trial would be the end of the road in a criminal case, and would lead to a determination of whether you are guilty or not guilty of the Domestic Violence charges you are facing.

If you are facing a Domestic Violence charge in Toronto, Ontario and are looking for an experienced Toronto Criminal Lawyer, call (647) 878 -6355, e-mail andrew@captanlaw.com or visit his website HERE. Andrew Captan has been practicing over 10 years a a Toronto Domestic Violence Lawyer and has successfully defended a wide range of Domestic Violence charges. He leaves no stone unturned in your defence, and will actively take every step possible to achieve the best possible result for you in your case.