Chapter 7: The Criminal
Court System
Structure of Canadian Criminal Courts and Trial
Procedures
I The Criminal Court Structure
A. Provincial Courts
Since the Constitution divides
court powers between the
Federal and Provincial
governments, the Provincial
governments have power to
create Provincial Courts
which begin the court
hierarchy.
There are three Provincial
Court judges appointed by
the PEI government who
hear criminal matters, Youth
Court issues and issues
under the Highway Safety
Act.
Provincial courts hear cases by
judge alone dealing with
summary conviction
offences which are less
serious and carry penalties of
fines, jail time up to two years,
house arrest or probation.
A Provincial court judge can
also hear certain indictable
offences which are more
serious and carry penalties up
to life imprisonment. Most
Provincial courts hear matters
dealing with theft or fraud over
$5000.
A criminal’s first contact
with the Court system on
PEI will begin in the
Provincial Court which will
hold the preliminary
hearing to determine if
there is sufficient evidence
to put the accused person
on trial. Members of the RCMP
lead Edward Joseph
This is an important process Phalen out of
provincial court after
to protect an accused from the 21-year-old city
man was charged with
an unfair trial or the two counts of assault
Province and its people from with a weapon.
spending money on a trial
that shouldn’t happen.
If either the Crown or the Defence
feels that a Judge has made an error
in his/her decision, an appeal to the
PEI Supreme Court can occur to
review the decision of the lower
court.
B. Supreme Court
PEI’s highest court is the Supreme
Court of Prince Edward Island
which is divided into two divisions:
Supreme Court Trial Division:
deals with civil ( including family
matters) and criminal offences-
indictable cases heard by Judge
alone or Judge and jury
Supreme Court Appeal Division:
deals with appeals arising from
tribunals, the Province Court or the
Trial Division.
C. Federal Courts
The Federal Court of Canada hears
civil cases against the Federal
Government in its trial division while
it hears appeals from federal boards
or commissions such as the National
Parole Board in its appeal division.
The Supreme Court of Canada is
the highest appeals court in the
nation with nine justices coming from
across Canada.
The Court will hear constitutional
questions referred by the Federal
Government especially dealing with
statue law passed by provinces or
Parliament.
It is an appeal court and has no trials.
The Court must grant leave or
permission to appeal a decision of a
lower court. These cases are usually
of national significance due to the
high number of cases in Canada.
The Tax Court of Canada
hears cases concerning income
tax issues arising from conflicts
between individuals or
businesses and the Canada
Revenue Agency.
The Court Martial Appeal
Court reviews decisions made
by a court martial or military
trial of an Armed Forces
member who has broken
Cpl. Matthew Wilcox of military law.
Glace Bay, N.S., is followed
by family members at his Unlike the court martial which is
court martial in Sydney, conducted by the Armed Forces,
N.S. in this 2009 file photo.
the judges of the Appeal Court
are not from the military.
The Nisga’a Court in British
Columbia was established by treaty
between the governments of
Canada and B.C with the Nisga’a
Nation. It functions as a Provincial
Court and can hear summary
offences.
Some provinces have established
Aboriginal Sentencing Circles
which involve a Provincial Judge,
officials, police, band or tribal
officers, the victim and the accused
sitting in a circle to determine guilt
and possible punishment.
Because Aboriginal Canadians make
up a disproportional number of
inmates in the prison system, this is
seen as an alternative to traditional
court sentences which ignore native
traditions.
II The Participants
Criminal trials are important in Canada
because of two fundamental principles:
An Accused person is innocent until
proven guilty
Guilt must be proven beyond a
reasonable doubt
The Court system involves several parties
who work together to allow justice to occur.
The Judge is the court official who tries the
case in the court of law and can sentence
convicted persons.
The Judge will determine what evident is
permissionible or allowed, control the
activities of the courtroom and will instruct
the jury into understanding the law in a jury
trial.
A justice of the peace has less authority
than a judge but performs court functions
such as issuing arrest or search warrants,
hear bail applications, or conduct marriages.
The accused ( or defendant) is
the person charged with
committing the criminal offence.
Although Defendants have the
right to represent themselves, the
complex nature of criminal trials
usually result in hiring a lawyer.
Duty counsel is a free service
which provides free legal advice to
the accused just arrested at the
police station or taken before
Provincial Court.
Legal Aid provides free law
services to an accused facing trial
in which a lawyer will help them
prepare and defend their case if
they can’t afford to pay for one
themselves.
Sometimes, it is better to pay for
services than to receive court-
appointed services as lawyers may
not feel it is needed to put the same
time into a case in which they are
paid by the government than a client.
The Defence Counsel is the lawyer
who defends an accused person on
trial. This person will act in the best
interests of the client to show that
the client was not guilty if the client
pleaded not guilty. They will also try
to discredit any evidence presented
by the Crown against the accused.
If the accused is found guilty, the
defence counsel will recommend a
sentence to the judge for the
convicted offender. The Judge can
consider it but doesn’t have to accept
it.
The Crown attorney ( or
prosecutor) represents the
government ( society in general
through the Queen) in investigating
and punishing criminal offences.
The Crown attorney brings forth
evidence or information which will
prove (or disprove) the elements of
a crime. This can consist of physical
evidence obtained from the victim,
the crime scene, and the accused or
testimonial evidence from the
arresting officer or witnesses to the
crime.
The Court Clerk assists the judge
by organizing evidence, swearing in
witnesses or announcing the
opening and closing of court.