Why Canada Needs Criminal Pre-Charge Screening Everywhere in the Country

You throw a television remote control that you own at your living room wall in frustration. It’s not aimed at anyone. It breaks as the batteries fly out. You think, “well that’s unfortunate, but no big deal, I’ll just get a new one.”

Think it’s impossible to get criminally charged for that? Think again. I’ve seen exactly that charge as Criminal Mischief while serving as duty counsel at an Ontario courthouse, arising out of a domestic dispute where a woman was charged after police were called by the spouse.

Every Dropped Charge Diverts Scarce Resources from More Serious Charges with Stronger Evidence

What that charge meant was an enormous expenditure of scarce criminal justice system resources:

• the court needed to process the charge, triggering a series of in-person court appearances for the accused at the courthouse (or by video);

• a justice of the peace needed to preside over all the remand court appearances;

• the police needed to arrange for the accused to attend at a detachment for fingerprinting, upload those prints and other particulars of the accused to their database systems, and then prepare Crown and disclosure briefs concerning the case;

• a Crown prosecutor needed to review the evidence concerning the charge, screen it to decide upon an appropriate disposition, and conduct Crown Pre-Trials (CPTs) involving defence counsel and possibly Judicial Pre-Trials (JPTs) involving a judge to determine what should be done with the charge;

• the police potentially had to respond to further disclosure requests from the defence for missing evidence - like an officer’s field notes, or a statement from a complainant;

• many months down the road there would typically be a final court appearance, again involving effort by an already overloaded Crown prosecutor and justice of the peace, where either the charge would be dropped outright, or a peacebond would be entered into in exchange for the charge being dropped.

Is anyone in Canadian society really safer from this massive expenditure of public funds? Would we be better off devoting the same resources instead to more serious criminal allegations with a higher likelihood of conviction?

Everyone agrees that the criminal justice system is currently overloaded. Everyone agrees that changes must be made. While a common solution involves calls for simply spending more money on that under resourced system, we all know that public resources are scarce, and have to come from somewhere. An overloaded public healthcare system is also a reality, where it’s highly unlikely anyone will agree to cuts in healthcare simply to fund the justice system, and every Canadian’s tax burden is already high.

Three Decades Ago Pre-Charge Screening Was Supposed to Expand

There are few simple solutions to criminal justice challenges, except here I (and many before me) have a simple solution for everyone: pre-charge screening!

When I started serving as a Federal Crown Prosecutor in 1995, our office was abuzz with Federal pre-charge screening possibly being brought in, as the provinces of British Columbia, Quebec and New Brunswick had already brought in provincial charge screening for the charges that their prosecutors were responsible for. A full 30 years later, neither a single additional province nor the feds (who also administer the territorial criminal justice systems) have added to those operating mandatory screening at the pre-charge stage. It’s totally baffling as to why they haven’t done so.

Strict Prosecutor Tests for Charges Proceeding Mean Unmeritorious Charges Will Inevitably be Dropped Even if Laid By Police

All prosecutors are guided by the same two tests in Canada as to whether charges should proceed in court:

1. is there a “reasonable prospect” of conviction, which is actually less than a probability standard (stated in a few jurisdictions as “reasonable likelihood” which would be a probability standard) based upon the available evidence and law?

2. is it in the “public interest” to proceed with the prosecution?

If the answer to either of these questions is “no,” then the case can’t proceed. These very tests exist to preserve scarce justice system resources.

Thus regardless of what the police might think of a case, charges won’t proceed if the charges don’t meet those prosecutor tests. Those aren’t tests which the police are bound by (generally they just need reasonable and probable grounds of an offence), but why would one bother laying a charge that would simply get yanked by the prosecutor, however only months down the road after clogging up the already jam-packed criminal court system?

Pre-Charge Screening Saves Resources, it Doesn’t Use More Resources

There is a misconception by some that pre-charge screening would cost more money, because prosecutors would need to be assigned as screeners, working with the police to weed out unmeritorious potential charges. But that doesn’t take into account all the prosecutor time that would be saved by not getting stuck with cases for months prior to them being dropped.

To those doubters, I challenge you to test out such a system and collect data. Pre-charge screening could be rolled out in specific test jurisdictions - like part of a province - over say a 36 month period. Then the data could be examined as to whether the charges that are laid move more quickly through the system, or at least there is more prosecutor time available to prepare those remaining cases, and court dockets aren’t as jammed on a daily basis with charges that ultimately go nowhere. The fact that none of British Columbia, Quebec or New Brunswick have abandoned pre-charge screening after over three decades suggests they find value in it.

In 2023 I authored a paper called Smart Bail Initiatives: A Progressive Approach to Reforming Canada’s Bail System. The core takeaway is that data is key. We can’t keep tinkering with criminal legislation, or guessing at criminal justice solutions, without hard data to backup what does and does not work. The same is true for pre-charge screening. It would cost very little to test out in the majority of Canada - especially in Ontario where 38% of Canadians live - to see if it can make a difference.

Firm Secures Stay of Proceedings After Complex Rights & Treaty Trial for Two Indigenous Clients, with Superior Court Recognition of Host of Treaties & New Aboriginal Rights Test

Because it’s our duty to protect our clients’ privacy, I don’t usually post about cases where we’ve been successful in securing the exoneration of clients. However, as our clients chose to make this a test case and have extensively publicly spoken about it, I’m posting about the important Quebec Superior Court criminal decision of R. v. Derek White & Hunter Montour, decided just a few days ago on 1 November 2023 by the Honourable Justice Sophie Bourque.

There can be many paths to being exonerated in criminal proceedings, some lengthier and unfortunately more resource-intensive than others. To secure exoneration here against Excise Act charges, where the Crown was seeking many years imprisonment, ultimately a constitutional test case needed to be created. Seven years later, the Quebec Superior Court stayed all charges our clients were facing.

You can read the mammoth 440 page decision here: https://coursuperieureduquebec.ca/fileadmin/cour-superieure/Jugements_diffuses_sur_X/R._c._White_et_Montour.pdf

A lot of things need to align for any successful criminal trial decision (all of which happened here):

1. the right issue(s);

2. the right clients;

3. the right evidence;

4. sufficient resources;

5. the right trial judge.

Few judges would have taken 20 (!) months to draft a decision like this. Her Honour Justice Sophie Bourque is the senior criminal judge on the Montreal Quebec Superior Court. She announced during our court appearance on 1 November 2023 that this would be her last major judgment, as she is retiring in December. It’s unfortunate that others in the future won’t further benefit from her wisdom.

The lesson for all those facing criminal proceedings is that you deserve a unique defence tailored to your specific circumstances, where you may need both patience and resources to see that defence through to its conclusion. There can never be any guarantees of success, however there are many ways in which to maximize criminal defence prospects of success, which in this case required a very significant team effort of lawyers and expert witnesses in order to give the court a sufficient legal and factual foundation to make the findings that it did.

Why Criminal Appeals Are the Easiest of All Appeals to Win: Winning Your Right to a New Trial, Reduced Sentence or Acquittal

You should never approach your criminal defence with the attitude of: no big deal if I lose my trial, I can always appeal!

Your Best Chance of Acquittal is Always at Trial, Not Appeal

Your best shot at winning any criminal case being brought against you will always be at the trial court. Hopefully, your criminal defence lawyer will be able to convince the Crown prosecutor to completely drop your charges prior to trial. Or perhaps negotiate some kind of acceptable plea deal for you that involves lesser charges, or a minimal sentence.

But even if you’re forced to go to trial, because you are entitled to the presumption of innocence, and you’ll benefit from the very high criminal standard of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” being required in order for a court to enter a conviction against you, your best chance for an acquittal on all or some charges, and your best chance for a reasonable sentence if you are convicted of anything, will be before the trial judge.

Your Odds are 1 in 3 of Winning a Criminal Appeal

However, if you are convicted of a crime you wish to continue to contest, you should know that appellate court stats in Canada give you about a 1 in 3 chance of success of some sort on appeal. Which really are pretty good odds.

That 1 in 3 doesn’t mean that you’ll necessarily be acquitted on appeal. Usually, it means you’ll receive a new trial (where unfortunately it’s always possible you’ll be convicted again, but hopefully not). Sometimes it means you’ll receive a reduced sentence on appeal. Occasionally it does in fact mean you’ll be totally exonerated by the appellate court.

Vast Majority of Appeals SCC Agrees to Hear Are Criminal Cases

Even if you have to fight your criminal case as high as the Supreme Court of Canada, your odds of getting the highest court in the land to hear your criminal appeal are way better than for any other kind of appeal.

In 2022, only 27% of all SCC leave to appeal applications involved criminal cases (124 leave applications in total). However, 65% of all appeals heard by the Supreme Court of Canada involved criminal cases (35 in total).

An Accused’s Appeal Doesn’t Raise Risk of a Crown Cross-Appeal

Do be aware that the Crown could appeal your acquittal or sentence, just like you can appeal your conviction or sentence, though Crown appeals aren’t all that common. Previously in Canadian history, criminal Crown appeals weren’t even permitted, with the principle being that the trial judge’s decision should always be deferred to. But in more recent decades, the Crown will from time to time choose to appeal acquittals where it is believed the acquittal was not legally and factually sound, or also choose to appeal sentences that are claimed to be inadequate.

But having previously conducted many criminal appeals for the Crown up to the level of the Supreme Court of Canada - both bringing the appeals on behalf of the Crown and defending against appeals brought by accused - I don’t believe that an accused bringing an appeal raises the risk of a cross-appeal by the Crown (to for example attempt to raise a trial sentence). Ultimately the Crown is required to act in the public interest, unlike private litigants who are certainly engage in tit for tat civil appeals.

Two Keys To Winning a Criminal Appeal is Be on Time & Hire Experienced Appellate Counsel

Typically you only have 30 days in which to appeal from the date of imposition of sentence. Even if you don’t have the money at the point to hire a lawyer, or are still trying to find a lawyer, you absolutely can’t miss that 30 days appeal window. It’s very strict. Far better to serve and file a very simple Notice of Appeal that you draft yourself in a timely way, where the appeal can later be fixed up by a lawyer, than to miss that 30 day deadline in hopes that your lawyer can later ask for an extension. Extensions are rarely granted.

Because the burden on an appeal will rest entirely upon you, unlike at trial when the burden of proof rested entirely upon the Crown, you absolutely need to hire an experienced appellate lawyer for your criminal appeal to stand a reasonable chance of success. Perhaps counterintuitively, appeals of very complex criminal cases where trials spanned many weeks will cost far less than the trial (because the appeal will only be one day in court, but may require many days or weeks of preparation). Whereas appeals of very simple criminal cases may cost more than the criminal trial (because there will be a cost for the transcripts of evidence, the appeal will still take a day in court, and drafting a complex factum of legal argument as well as analyzing the transcripts could take up more time than the entire trial required).

It’s always best to anticipate an adverse result at a criminal trial, and plan accordingly for an appeal well in advance of the trial verdict, regardless of how confident you might be about a positive trial outcome. That way you can budget for an appeal in advance, interview potential appellate lawyers (as many trial lawyers don’t do appeals), and even plan for a bail pending appeal application (as you don’t want to get stuck serving out your sentence while your appeal is pending).

Gordon S. Campbell is a criminal appellate lawyer who practices throughout Canada up to the level of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Why You Always Have 2 But Not 3 Choices When Charged With a Criminal Offence

Really all forms of court litigation, criminal charges included, have two choices: (1) voluntarily settle to take your case out of the court system, or (2) proceed to trial to let a third party decision maker like a judge decide your case for you. When you settle, the result is within your control. When you proceed to trial, the result is out of your hands.

Proceeding to trial may occasionally have the prospect of a much better result than settling a criminal case: complete exoneration. But it usually comes with the risk of a far worse result: being convicted of everything you’re accused of, and receiving a far harsher sentence. So that instead of being required to plead guilty to one charge for a fine if you settle, after trial you may risk being convicted of four charges resulting in the sentencing judge imposing 60 days custody in jail as a worst case result.

Proceeding to trial means you roll the dice. Maybe you get a better result. Maybe you get a worse result. Only your lawyer can advise you on your prospects of success at trial, after carefully evaluating all of the evidence against you that has been disclosed.

But you’ll always have those two choices: (1) resolve your case on some kind of negotiated terms with the prosector, or (2) go to trial. You’re never forced to plead guilty. Your lawyer won’t ethically be able to even help you with a plea if you tell her: “I’m not guilty, I didn’t do it, but I’m going to plead to get it over with.”

If you truly did nothing, you should be proceeding to trial, as much as you want to get things over with. Though I find for those facing multiple charges, sometimes there could be legitimate minor wrongdoing that might be admitted to, in exchange for the Crown dropping more major charges. If there isn’t, your lawyer should continue to attempt to wear down the Crown through additional Crown Pre-Trials and Judicial Pre-Trials (where a judge also offers his opinion on your case) to hopefully make the case go away, and in the alternative prepare to run a trial (which likely happens in under 5% of criminal cases).

However, it’s very important to remember when facing criminal charges that there is no third choice other than (1) resolving on negotiated terms, or (2) proceeding to trial. If, for example, your lawyer tells you she’s negotiated the best deal achievable for you where the Crown will drop a bunch of charges, in exchange for a plea and minor penalty, you’ll still have those two options: accept the deal and plead guilty, or proceed to set a trial date as nothing short of full exoneration will be justice to you.

Your lawyer will accept and respect either choice from you. You’ll always have that right to proceed to trial.

But you can’t demand a third choice of refusing to proceed to trial and refusing to accept the deal painstakingly negotiated for you after months of discussions, simply because you believe you deserve a better deal, or because the deal negotiated will cause you hardship (because of the size of the fine, the length of a driving prohibition, the imposition of a criminal record). All those results can be avoided by proceeding to trial. But that is your only second choice. There isn’t a third choice (short of firing your lawyer and either representing yourself or hiring a new lawyer).

You can’t refuse a trial, and refuse a plea. Refusal of both will mean you’ve effectively chosen to proceed to trial - whether you want to or not - and a court will set a trial date for you.

I often tell clients, far better you regret proceeding to trial, than you regret taking a plea deal you’re not comfortable with. However, going to trial inherently comes with lots of risks, including that you need to be able to pay the extra legal fees for the trial, that the case could take another year or more to be over with, and that you run the risk of a far worse outcome than was possible on a plea deal.

Carefully consider those two crucial options you have available to you. Ask your lawyer lots of questions about them. Then choose between them. It may be a painful choice, but it’s a choice that needs to be made if you’re facing a criminal charge.

Refusing to choose means you’re going to trial. And refusing either a trial or a plea may mean your lawyer needs to withdraw from your case, because you’ve lost confidence in her advice. You always have two choices but usually not three choices when charges with a criminal offence.

Gordon S. Campbell defends those charged with criminal and regulatory offences throughout Ontario at all levels of trial and appellate courts. Learn more at www.defenceeast.com.

How to Know When You Need a Criminal Defence Lawyer, How to Choose Defence Counsel & How to Save Money on Your Legal Fees

How to Know When you Need a Criminal Defence Lawyer

Knowing when you need a lawyer can be a lot more challenging that knowing when you need to call a plumber. A pipe bursts in your basement, water sprays everywhere, and you’ll probably be Googling for plumber contact info in no time.

But legal problems, even criminal law problems, can more insidiously creep up on you, and making legal decisions without a lawyer is more a part of our daily lives. Even when the police approach you to ask “just a few questions” usually takes place without legal advice, or even a warning of your right to counsel, if you’re only being treated at that point as a witness rather than a suspect in a crime. 

Generally the best way to tell if you need a criminal defence lawyer is based on risk. Meaning, before you speak to the police about anything other than providing your basic name and address contact identification details, you should absolutely get advice from a lawyer. You might subjectively believe your risk to be low, but as a non-lawyer who isn’t in possession of all the facts and motivations the police have, it’s impossible for you to come to a rational conclusion about true risk.

Witnesses can quickly turn into suspects. Information gathered by the police that won’t be used against you in a criminal context could be turned over to civil authorities or a private insurer to be used against you civilly or administratively. You may have absolutely no obligation to share any information with the police, or you might be required by legislation to provide information - and even the police won’t be able to accurately inform you on your obligations, as they mostly aren’t trained as lawyers, and certainly aren’t working for you as your own lawyer. 

How to Choose Criminal Defence Counsel

There’s all sorts of mythology out there concerning how to choose a lawyer. Traditionally, everyone relied upon word of mouth, which still works to a degree. However, many of us in our personal lives may have only dealt with a lawyer a couple of times previously - perhaps to buy a house - and won’t be able to easily ask friends and family to come up with lawyer names for criminal defence.

Fortunately we’ve moved away from the Yellow Pages trend of whichever criminal defence lawyer was paying the most for the biggest ad received the most phone calls , to many law firms now having substantive organic content on their websites which can be evaluated as to how well criminal law subjects are explained, together with giving the background c.v. details of each lawyer.

While I like Google reviews for restaurants and hotels, I wouldn’t rely upon them for criminal defence lawyers, as they don’t reflect objective criteria for how good any legal services were, and may have more to do with simply how the legal relationship ended, whether a client was expecting a very low fee for very complicated work, or whether a client was expecting complete exoneration in the face of overwhelming evidence against him, rather than the best outcome legally obtainable. Legal services can’t be reviewed similarly to a clean hotel bathroom, which will indeed have objective factors of quality we can all readily assess.

The appropriateness of legal fees are especially hard to evaluate, as an experienced lawyer charging higher hourly rates might be able to finish work more quickly than a more junior lawyer charging lower hourly rates, and thus your hourly bill will could lower in the end even with higher hourly fees. Currently in Canada, lawyers with some experience will be typically charging between $300 and $500 an hour. Most criminal lawyers will offer fixed flat fees except for the most complicated serious matters, where it can be impossible to calculate efforts required in advance, so you’ll at least be able to budget.

While lawyer fees can vary dramatically in many practice areas, they’re actually usually quite similar for defence lawyers, except perhaps for the most junior or senior lawyers available. Simpler criminal matters can often be resolved for round $5,000, and the cost of preparing for and attending a typical trial might lead to another $10,000 in additional fees. Appeals will often start at $15,000 to $25,000. But the most complex of cases may cost over $100,000 to defend, because of the huge lawyer time investment required.

I’d suggest that the lawyer responsiveness to questions and communications generally might be the most important factor in choosing a lawyer - even if s/he can only respond via staff - as the best most experienced greatest value lawyer in the world won’t be any good to you if you can’t get your questions answered, and you never hear back from the lawyer when you have a problem you need legal help with. Thus responsiveness is likely more important than experience or value in fees, though experience and value would be my number two and three factors to evaluate carefully. 

Results previously obtained should never be a factor to evaluate a lawyer upon, and you should be cautious about anyone boasting about “success” percentages on a website. For basic legal services like real estate transactions and will drafting, you have a right to essentially 100% success. For litigation like criminal defence, anyone bragging about “wins” might only be taking the easiest of cases, or might be getting creative over what a “win” even amounts to.

Usually the only result that really matters is getting the optimal outcome at a price you can afford.

How to Save Money on Your Criminal Defence Legal Fees

Generally the best way to save money on a lawyer is perhaps somewhat counterintuitively to hire them as soon as possible, rather than as late as possible. Some might think an early retainer will only run up fees, or incur charges that were never necessary, because the problem really didn’t need a lawyer in the first place. But the reality is that sometimes solely a few hours of lawyer first aid early on, or even just a one hour consultation, can head off months or even years of legal suffering that could require dozens or hundreds of lawyer hours to solve.

So the moment your mind to telling you, “hey, I think I have a real legal problem, maybe I should be getting professional advice” you should give in to that impulse. This isn’t my pitch to enrich my lawyer colleagues. We usually don’t even charge for initial contact to determine if a lawyer can help you. And basic more formal advice usually won’t cost you more than a few hundred dollars. 

Sometimes the legal answer you need may be as simple as “yes” or “no” from a lawyer, like should I speak to the police, or not, but making the wrong choice without legal advice could cost you dearly. 

So the best way to save money isn’t endless comparison shopping to get the cheapest lawyer hourly rate out there, isn’t putting off hiring a lawyer until things get really desperate, and isn’t planning to try to muddle through the work yourself, and only call up a lawyer now and then to explain how to do it yourself. That is like thinking the cheapest way to build a house is to pay a contractor at his hourly rate to spend hundreds of hours on the phone with you explaining every step of house building techniques to you, including how to rip out and redo all your mistakes. That kind of plan will likely lead you to spend the most rather than least possible, potentially combined with getting the worst results.

Contacting a criminal defence lawyer when the risk of a legal problem seems to you to be significant, combined with picking a lawyer mostly based on their responsiveness (with experience and value being important secondary factors), and saving money on a lawyer through contacting one as soon as possible, will best serve you in obtaining the most effective criminal defence legal services, when you need those services, at the most affordable price. 

Gordon S. Campbell, B.A., LL.B., B.C.L. has served as a Federal Crown Prosecutor, Constitutional-Criminal Issues Coordinator at the Ontario Regional Office of the Department of Justice Canada, counsel to the Military Police Complaints Commission, and is author of three criminal law books. He now practices criminal defence law at a trial level in Eastern Ontario, and at an appellate level throughout Canada including at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Can I Afford a Criminal Defence Lawyer? You Might Be Surprised That They're Likely the Least Expensive Lawyers You Can Retain

It’s normal and sensible to worry about whether you can afford the cost of legal services. And since there are few life events as stressful as being charged with a criminal offence, the last thing you want is added stress over scrambling to come up with the funds to hire a lawyer to provide you with the defence you deserve and need.

Legal fees are always tied to effort, experience and time involved, even if they’re expressed as block flat fees. So for buying a house or drafting a will, the lawyer time required will typically be quite moderate, and thus the fees are usually very affordable.

Family & Civil Litigation Fees are Not the Same as Criminal Defence Fees

While court-based litigation services will often, unfortunately, burn through much more lawyer time than would legal transactional or document drafting services, usually we hear about crazy court costs in the many hundreds of thousands of dollars for family and civil litigation cases that are in court for many, many years, and may involve thousands of documents. What you hear about those cases is totally true, however, their numbers don’t represent the reality of criminal court defence costs.

Very few would ever think of criminal defence costs as being the bargain of all court litigation. Certainly, it’s never a bargain to be charged with a criminal offence. But perhaps oddly enough, for the results they can achieve of full exoneration from criminal conduct accusations and being able to completely move on with your life free of any cloud hanging over you, a relatively modest amount of criminal defence counsel effort and legal expense can work amazing results as compared to other types of litigation.

Why are criminal defence lawyer costs of going to court often so much less than for family and civil litigation lawyers going to court? It’s not because of dramatically different hourly rates. It’s largely because in the family and civil litigation realm, it’s two (or more) private parties, facing off against each other in a blow for blow manner, where one long letter begets one long response, one complex motion may beget a cross-motion, and the pre-trial process can drag on for many years, only to then wait years more for an actual trial date as it’s the criminal trials that get first priority before family and especially civil cases because of the Charter right to trial within a reasonable time being a criminal thing.

The Forced Efficiency of the Criminal Court World

In the criminal defence world, you’re only facing the government on the other side. While it’s true the government in theory has unlimited resources, those resources tend to be spread very thinly in the prosecutions world that I used to work in, with one prosecutor sometimes having carriage of as many as 400 files. Likewise, there are few courtrooms, limited court staff, and even more limited judges to meet all the criminal case demands, which all have little ticking clocks heading towards a best before expiry date. Thus it’s in everyone’s interests to be as efficient as possible.

Prosecutorial efficiency means that defence counsel may be able to negotiate good resolution deals with the Crown, depending on the persuasiveness of the law and facts that can be presented by experienced defence counsel. Such deals can also be pitched directly to a judge in the presence of the Crown, if agreement can’t be reached with the Crown. And even going to trial in the criminal law world might only take a few days in court rather than the weeks of family and civil trial court time (though there are notable exceptions, depending on criminal case complexity).

Value & Predictability of Criminal Defence Fees

Value for your money in criminal defence doesn’t just stop at the trial level. According to statistics, criminal appeals have the highest rates of success of any class of appeals, because of the weight appellate courts place on liberty interests.

In addition to value, criminal defence fees usually come with the feature of predictability, such that defence counsel can quote their clients fixed block fees, rather than the unpredictable hourly charges typical of family and civil litigation. Some highly complex criminal cases do need to proceed on an hourly basis, but even in those highly complex cases advance estimates of likely costs are usually possible.

So how affordable can criminal defence costs really get? Most less complex criminal cases can be resolved for under $5,000 in fees; compare that to family or civil litigation, where starting retainers may be $10,000 and up for litigation, and resolution of any such case that’s already in court is likely to, unfortunately, cost much more than that because of the way ongoing court appearances, information discovery processes, correspondence, and negotiations will continue to consume fees.

Most less complex criminal trials can be run in about two days of court time, leading to a trial fee of between $10,000 and $15,000, in addition to the analysis and resolution fee that will usually have been paid earlier. Compare that to the average family or civil trial, where fees always seem to exceed $100,000, and often are closer to $200,000 and up.

There are unfortunately lots of family and civil litigants who run out of money partway through the process to continue to fund legal counsel, because of the war of attrition processes involved. That doesn’t need to ever be the case in the criminal defence realm, where those of the most modest means are urged to apply for Legal Aid, and everyone else can focus on how to best take advantage of value and predictability in fees.

Top 3 Things Not To Do If Police Tell You They Will Be Charging You With a Criminal Offence

Perhaps the most shocking point of the criminal process for anyone accused of an offence could be the moment you’re told by the police they’ll be charging you. Getting a call out of the blue that you have two hours to turn yourself in to the police or be arrested could shake your being to its core.

You might have a reflexive reaction at the time of that call to do whatever your can to stop that process cold, or to hide the process from others, or to spring into action preparing your defence. All these reactions are natural enough. But the way you might implement them could be completely contrary to your best interests.

As a lawyer who had spent the last decade in criminal defence practice and close to a decade before that as a Federal Crown prosecutor, here are my top three things NOT to do if the police tell you they will be charging you with an offence, based on my experience with hundreds of cases

1. Offer Long Convoluted Explanations of How You Didn’t Do Anything

Many people erroneously think they can talk the police out of charging them with an offence, just by making a statement. All your statement is going to accomplish is you incriminating yourself. Even an exculpatory “I didn’t do it” statement can be incriminating, as it can pin you down on your story, and be used later by the prosecution to cross-examine you at trial. It can also undermine your credibility if you later change your story.

You’ll be told by the police at the time you are being charged that you have the right to remain silent. Take advantage of that right. It’s there for a reason.

Give the police your name. Give them your address. If you need to agree to some reasonable conditions to not be held for a bail hearing - like not to contact someone who has made a criminal complaint against you - do that.

But don’t say anything substantive at the time you are charged. Even if the police ever so politely offer you a chance to tell your side of the story. You might think it will do you some good. It won’t. Trust me. I served for long enough as a prosecutor, and liked nothing better than to see that an accused had given a lengthy statement at the time of arrest that I could later pick apart and prove wrong at trial years later.

2. Think & Say You Don’t Need a Lawyer

Some think they’re best off keeping the charges quiet, hoping they will all just go away. Or that if they just explain everything to the police (see thing NOT to do #1 above), the police be so overwhelmed by the compelling story that a lawyer won’t be required.

Trust me, you need a lawyer when you’re being criminally charged, more than even for something like a family law or civil damages claim. While in family and civil claims, lawyers are extremely helpful, not having one usually won’t lead to you being locked up for day, months or even for years. Not so in the world of criminal law. And don’t think that just because you didn’t do anything, you don’t risk jail. Or a criminal record that could impair your future employment and ability to travel.

Be aware that contrary to what you might perceive from TV, criminal lawyers are actually amongst the cheapest and best value lawyers you can find. They usually charge in block fees, meaning you can predict costs and don’t need to worry about hourly charges where there is a ticking clock for every minute you spend on the phone with them.

3. Immediately Start Contacting Everyone in Your Phone’s Contacts to Be a Witness

Immediately contacting everyone you know who might have some involvement or relevant evidence to provide in your case, asking them for help, and potentially telling them what to say, could be perceived as the offence of obstruction of justice or breach your release conditions. Certainly making a list of potential witnesses and giving that to your lawyer to follow up on is a great idea, as is pulling together all the documents including text messages, emails, social media messages and the like that you can find which could be relevant to your defence.

But directly reaching out to people who it might be alleged are co-accused, or victims, or just witnesses with independent stories could be alleged to be improper conduct if those people say you tried to influence them, or there is a court order limiting who you can contact. You need a lawyer to insulate yourself from allegations of impropriety with witness and third party contacts.

Avoid doing the foregoing top three things NOT to do, and at least you won’t be behind the game when your case first comes up in court. You’ll be able to get full disclosure from the Crown so as to understand what exactly it is alleged your did, and what evidence supports those allegations. You’ll still have ample time to tell your side of the story at any trial, though probably only under about 5% of cases ever make it to trial. Most are resolved. Avoiding those Top 3 Things will put you in the best position in order to negotiate an optimal resolution from a position of strength.

Gordon Scott Campbell practices criminal, regulatory and professional conduct defence law at trial and appellate levels throughout Ontario up to the level of the Supreme Court of Canada. He previously served as Federal Crown Prosecutor and is author of The Investigator’s Legal Handbook series of books.

Devrais-je faire appel de ma condamnation ou de ma peine criminelle?

Dernièrement, plusieurs clients éventuels me posent une question très courte, mais très importante: « devrais-je faire appel? ». Dans cette courte phrase se retrouvent plein d’espoirs, de peurs et de réalités. Dans ce blog, j’essaierais d’adresser certaines de ces inquiétudes pour vous.

LES ESPOIRS D’APPEL

L’espoir fondamental est que l’appel améliorera les résultats du procès. Lorsqu’un client me demande quelles sont leurs chances sur un appel, je dois officiellement leur dire : « Ça dépend ». Ça dépend de la loi et des faits à leurs procès. Ça dépend aussi de la direction que les vents d’appel judiciaire soufflent au Canada au cours d’une année particulière pour les enjeux juridiques en question.

Cependant statistiquement, je peux leur dire qu’environ le tiers des appels en matière criminelle ont une réussite à certains égards, selon les données de la Cour d’appel de l’Ontario. Le fait que les appels en matière criminelle ont un taux de réussite plus élevé que les appels en matière civile (où vous n’avez qu’une chance sur quatre) est conforme au fait que les tribunaux veulent faire tout en leur pouvoir pour protéger les droits des accusés contre les condamnations injustifiées ou les violations graves des droits.

L’espoir qu’un appel fera complètement disparaître les accusations a besoin d’être géré. Un appel réussi veut probablement dire l’ordre d’un nouveau procès. Ce n’est pas un mauvais résultat puisque la condamnation est renversée, mais vous devez être préparé psychologiquement et financièrement pour un autre procès. La Couronne ne procédera pas toujours à un nouveau procès, mais vous devez quand même vous préparer.

Les appels réussis sont plus directs : soit la Cour d’appel remplacera elle-même une peine appropriée, soit (moins souvent) renverra l’affaire au juge du procès pour une révision de peine en se fondant sur les bons principes juridiques. Une nouvelle peine sera au moins un processus relativement rapide par rapport à un nouveau procès.

Il est plus rare qu’une cour d’appel renverse une condamnation criminelle et procède elle-même à un acquittement - plutôt que de laisser la cour de première instance réexaminer si un acquittement est justifié au cours d’un nouveau procès - mais cela se produit.

LES PEURS DE FAIRE APPEL

Vous vous demandez sûrement si les choses peuvent empirer en faisant appel. Dans des cas criminels, la réponse est probablement pas. La Couronne fera rarement un contre-appel simplement parce que vous avez commencé les procédures d’un appel puisque les appels fait par la Couronne exige un fort intérêt public. Donc, le fait de commencer des procédures d’appel de votre condamnation ou de votre peine signifie habituellement, au pire, que vous serez coincé avec le résultat du procès si vous perdez, et non pas que vous serez reconnu coupable d’infractions supplémentaires ou que votre peine sera augmentée. De plus, en matière criminelle, la règle générale veut que la Couronne ne réclame ni n’adjuge les dépens. Ce qui veut dire que vous ne pourrez pas récupérer vos frais de services juridiques si votre appel est un succès et que vous ne risquez pas non plus les frais de services juridiques de la Couronne si vous perdez.

LES RÉALITÉS DE FAIRE APPEL

Un appel vous coûtera une grande somme additionnelle d’argent après que vous ayez peut-être déjà dépensé pas mal d’argent pour votre défense criminelle au procès. Le coût de l’appel pourrait être supérieur ou inférieur au coût de votre procès, dépendant de la durée de votre procès ainsi que la complexité et le nombre d’enjeux en appel.

En plus, vous devrez budgéter pour les coûts des transcriptions, qui est plus ou moins 500 $ par jour pour la première copie. Pour les prochaines copies officielles, les coûts diminuent. Vous avez habituellement besoin de 5 copies afin de procéder à la Cour d’appel, mais le nombre précis dépend du nombre de juges qui présideront l’appel ainsi que les règlements de la cour.

Le côté positif des coûts d’un appel est qu’ils sont beaucoup plus faciles à prédire à l’avance que les coûts d’un procès. Les avocats spécialisés en appel criminel vous factureront habituellement des frais fixes pour l’appel, y compris les frais de déplacement et les débours autre que les transcriptions afin que vous puissiez décider à l’avance si, selon vous, ça en vaut la peine. L’aide juridique de l’Ontario (AJO) financera des appels qui ont de bonnes chances de succès; si vous êtes financièrement admissible (le seuil de revenu est assez bas), le processus consiste à trouver un avocat d’appel qui fournira d’abord une opinion à AJO, et ensuite, un comité d’AJO décide de fournir ou non du financement.

Donc, devrais-je faire appel? Je dirais que la réponse est définitivement « OUI » si votre cas n’est pas totalement désespéré (ce sont rares), s’il y avait un gros inconvénient au jugement  (l’acquisition d’un casier judiciaire, purger une longue peine d’emprisonnement, payer une amende importante ou la confiscation de biens considérables), si vous pouvez vous le permettre, et s’il y a une base juridique pour l’appel. Vous devez comprendre que le processus d’appel n’est pas un nouveau procès et que les arguments juridiques plutôt que factuels prédominent en appel. Vous ne pouvez pas faire appel simplement parce que vous n’aimez pas le résultat du procès; vous devriez retenir les services d’un avocat qui peut élaborer une justification juridique solide pour expliquer pourquoi le procès a déraillé et pourquoi une cour d’appel devrait faire quelque chose à ce sujet.

Gordon Scott Campbell est un avocat crimininaliste qui représente des clients pour des accusations de nature criminelle, des audiences sur la réglementation et la conduite professionnelle, des procès et des appels dans tout le Canada jusqu'au niveau de la Cour Suprême du Canada. Il a déjà été le procureur de la Couronne fédérale et est l'auteur du livre Le manuel juridique de l'enquêteur (Yvon Blais, 2010). Pour en apprendre plus, visiter www.defenceeast.com et www.proconductlaw.com.

Les cinq mythes principaux de la défense pénale à éviter : un avocat vous donne des informations afin de vous sauver de l’argent tout en obtenant des résultats optimaux

Malgré ces temps difficiles, les roues de justice continuent de tourner. Quoique peut-être plus lentement qu'à l'habitude.

Bien que vous quittez rarement la maison, vous pouvez quand même vous trouver en besoin d’un avocat de défense pénale. Et  ce n’est définitivement pas le moment où quelqu’un veut être détenu (pas que quelqu’un le veuille). C’est comprenable que vous soyez stressé sur la manière de payer les services d’un avocat alors que chaque sou compte.

Vous pourriez être surpris d’apprendre que le droit criminel est la vente au rabais du monde juridique. Plus qu’une fois, j’ai entendu des gens me dire avec certitude, lors de rencontre social, qu’ils savent que les criminalistes sont les plus riches de tous les avocats, alors qu’en réalité, c’est qu’ils sont les moins bien payés de toutes les spécialités juridiques. Je ne sais jamais d’où les gens tirent cette impression, car regarder des émissions de polices et de voleurs ne révèle généralement pas le mode de vie du riche avocat de défense pénale ce qui semble peut-être plus réservé à la télévision aux plaideurs civils et familiaux). Mais néanmoins, c’est l’impression que les gens ont.

Cependant, la véritable réalité des frais des avocats criminalistes est une bonne nouvelle pour quiconque au Canada qui est accusé d'une infraction ou fait l’objet d’une enquête  ou pour un membre de la famille, un être cher ou un ami qui se retrouve dans cette position. Le secret de cette affaire de droit pénal est la prévisibilité et l'efficacité des procédures des courts pénaux.

Contrairement au litige familial et civil, où ce sont surtout des plaideurs privés qui se disputent et qui se dépensent mutuellement s’ils le désirent, dans les litiges criminels, vous vous retrouvez contre la Couronne. Bien qu’il y ait des variantes dans la façon que la Couronne répond dépendamment de la Couronne individuelle qui est assignée à votre dossier, ils doivent en principe être justes et suivre les règlements. Et s’ils ne les respectent pas, vous pouvez toujours vous tourner vers les cours.  Je parle d'expérience puisque j’ai servi en tant que Couronne fédérale pour plusieurs années.

Voici mes cinq principaux mythes à éviter sur la défense d’une accusation criminelle et l’embauche d’un avocat criminaliste qui peut tous vous coûter beaucoup à la fin si vous tombez dans leurs pièges.

1. Je suis coupable donc je n’ai pas besoin d’un avocat

Ce que vous avez fait ou non peut avoir très peu d’influence sur l'habileté de la cour à vous condamner pour les accusations auxquelles vous faites face. Même si vous avez « fait » quelque chose, vous faites peut-être face à une accusation non reliée. Ou même plusieurs accusations non reliées avec ce que vous avez « fait ». Ou il se peut qu’il y ait un problème technique avec les accusations, tel que de ne pas avoir respecté les délais de prescription.

Même si vous plaider coupable, la sanction que vous obtenez peut varier entre potentiellement détruire votre vie ou avoir seulement des effets inoffensifs, sans que la prison soit une option dans tous les cas. Par exemple, si vous n’avez pas de dossier criminel et qu’on vous offre une peine suspendue, qui peut sembler inoffensif puisqu’il n’y a pas de temps en prison ou de contravention à payer, vous croyez peut-être que c’est une bonne affaire!

Par contre, qu’arrive-t-il si vous perdez votre emploi ou que vous ne pouvez voyager internationalement parce que vous avez soudainement un dossier criminel? Le peu d’argent que vous avez peut-être économisé en décidant de ne pas engager un avocat sera plus que compensé par la perte potentiellement énorme de revenus ou de libertés de vie.

Un avocat aurait pu vous obtenir une « libération » pour le même comportement, ce qui ne serait pas une condamnation criminelle contre vous. Ou il aurait pu au moins expliquer et négocier toutes les résultats afin de vous obtenir le meilleur résultat pour vous, qui conviendrait le mieux avec vos circonstances de vie.

2. Toujours engagé l’avocat qui peut garantir des résultats

Ce n’est jamais une bonne affaire d’engager un avocat qui vous offre des « garanties » qu’il ne peut pas maintenir. Sauvez-vous vite d’un avocat criminaliste qui vous garantit un résultat. Croyez-moi, ce n’est simplement pas possible. Les résultats du droit pénal sont décidés par le juge assigné à votre dossier, même lors d’un plaidoyer de culpabilité ou la Couronne est en accord avec la sanction. 

Si quoi que ce soit, vous voulez un avocat qui vous dit la vérité et non seulement ce que vous voulez entendre.

Ce qui ne veut pas dire que vous devriez engager (ou garder) quelqu’un qui, selon vous, qui vous met de la pression déraisonnable pour plaider coupable, en vous disant que vous êtes assuré de perdre au procès. C’est toujours votre décision si vous voulez plaider ou non. Votre avocat ne peut que vous donner des conseils. C’est toujours mieux d’aller au procès et de perdre, que de plaider coupable à quelque chose que vous n’avez pas fait.

3. L’avocat de moins/plus dispendieux est toujours le meilleur

Dans la loi, comme dans plusieurs choses dans la vie, on n’obtient pas toujours ce pour quoi on paie (ou ne paie pas). Il n’y a pas de règlement du barreau qui indique les tarifs que les avocats criminalistes peuvent ou ne peuvent pas facturer. Le marché fixe leurs tarifs.

Les avocats criminalistes doivent être compétitifs au niveau de leurs tarifs. Cependant, vous devrez être prudent et comparer ce qui est inclus ou non dans les différents tarifs présenter. Ce n’est pas comme l’achat d’une auto, où un dépliant explique soigneusement les options supplémentaires de chaque niveau de finition plus cher.

Les tarifs les plus bas risquent de ne pas inclure tous les services que vous ayez besoin, ou ont des surplus cachés. Les tarifs les plus dispendieux risquent d’inclure plus de services que vous ayez besoin. Et les tarifs sont rarement liés avec l’expérience, même si certains croient que l’avocat avec les tarifs les moins dispendieux à moins d’expérience alors que les avocats les plus dispendieux ont le plus d’expérience. Ceci n’est pas toujours le cas, et cela ne veut surtout pas dire qui peut atteindre quels résultats pour vous.

La plupart s’entendent pour dire qu’une estimation « globale » des frais juridiques forfaitaires est la meilleure option dans la mesure du possible pour les affaires criminelles (et c’est une chose que la plupart des avocats criminalistes fourniront), mais vérifiez ce qui comprend vraiment :

1. Est-ce pour toute la procédure, y compris le procès, et en avez-vous vraiment besoin?

2. S’il s’agit d’une partie de la procédure, quelle partie est incluse?

3. Y a-t-il des frais supplémentaires pour d’autres procédures facultatives?

4. Payez-vous le temps de déplacement, les frais de déplacement ou d’autres débours?

5. L’avocat a-t-il clairement indiqué tous ses honoraires par écrit?

Aussi attrayant qu’un honoraire forfaitaire peut sembler, quelquefois un taux horaire peut être moins dispendieux dépendant de votre cas puisque vous utilisez seulement les services dont vous avez besoin. Demandez à n’importe quel avocat éventuel le pour et le contre d’un honoraire forfaitaire ou d’un taux horaire.

4. Prendre ses chances au procès est toujours le meilleur plan

La façon la plus sûre de vous coûter beaucoup plus d’argent pour un avocat qu’il n’en faut, et d’obtenir un résultat inférieur, est de penser qu’il est préférable de toujours aller un procès. Il est vrai que la preuve hors de tout doute raisonnable est une norme élevée que la Couronne doit respecter. Et votre avocat vous dira à quel point la preuve de la Couronne est solide ou faible.

Cependant, insister sur un procès alors qu’un bon accord de plaidoyer est possible vous coûtera certainement beaucoup plus d’argent que l’accord (généralement proportionnel au nombre de jours de procès requis), et pourrait faire toute la différence entre la prison ou pas de prison, ou la libération par rapport à la condamnation, parce que le procès signifie que vous ne concluez pas une entente de réduction de sanction avec la Couronne, et le juge du procès ne vous accorde pas non plus de réduction pour un plaidoyer précoce parce que vous avez pris du temps au procès.

Oui, vous avez toujours la chance d’être acquittés lors d’un procès, mais c’est ce que c’est : un pari. Vous pourriez être chanceux ou malchanceux avec le juge que vous obtenez. Vous pourriez être chanceux ou malchanceux quant à ce que les témoins se souviennent. Tout au plus, vous allez payer beaucoup plus en frais.

Souvenez-vous, en tant qu’avocat criminaliste, je me supporte ainsi que ma famille avec ceux qui décident de payer plus en allant au procès. Mais il est de mon devoir d’obtenir pour vous le meilleur résultat possible et non seulement apporter votre cas au procès à l’aveuglette pour vous facturer un plus gros montant. Quelquefois, des procès sont nécessaires. J’en ai fait des centaines. Mais souvent ils ne sont pas nécessaires et cela vous économisera beaucoup d’argent.

5. Pas besoin de trop s’inquiéter avec les résultats du procès puisque je peux toujours faire appel

Votre meilleure chance légale est toujours au procès par rapport à un appel, si vous n’êtes pas en mesure de résoudre votre cas avant le procès. Au procès, il y a au moins un niveau théorique de jeu. En appel, selon les statistiques de la Cour d’appel de l’Ontario, vous aurez au mieux une chance sur trois. Et ce n’est pas pour l’acquittement, seulement pour obtenir un remède. Peut-être seulement une peine réduite. Ou peut-être un nouveau procès, qui vous coûtera beaucoup plus d’argent.

Soyez assuré que des appels ne sont pas donnés. Pour la plupart, les appels coûtent plus que les procès à cause des coûts de transcription du procès ainsi que tout le temps nécessaire pour la préparation des documents légaux et l’examination des toutes les pièce à conviction de première instance.

Donc, pensez à un appel comme votre dernière ressource. Si vous faites face à des accusations sérieuses, vous aurez besoin de budgéter à l’avance pour un appel en plus du procès afin de diminuer les risques de passer une décennie en prison si vous perdez le procès. Cependant, si votre budget est serré, vous devriez définitivement investir dans un bon avocat criminaliste pour vous défendre le plus tôt possible.

Gordon Scott Campbell est un avocat crimininaliste qui représente des clients pour des accusations de nature criminelle, des audiences sur la réglementation et la conduite professionnelle, des procès et des appels dans tout le Canada jusqu'au niveau de la Cour Suprême du Canada. Il a précédemment servi en tant que procureur de la Couronne fédérale et est l'auteur du livre Le manuel juridique de l'enquêteur (Yvon Blais, 2010). Pour en apprendre plus, visiter www.defenceeast.com et www.proconductlaw.com.

Top 5 Criminal Defence Myths to Avoid: A Barrister Gives You the Inside Scoop on Saving Money While Still Getting an Optimal Result

Despite these challenging times, the wheels of justice continue to turn. Albeit perhaps a bit more slowly than usual.

Even though you’re hardly leaving the house, you might still find yourself in need of a criminal or regulatory defence lawyer. And now is definitely not a time anyone wants to be detained in custody (not that anyone ever wants that).  It’s understandable you could be particularly stressed about how you can afford a lawyer when every dollar counts.

You might be shocked to learn that criminal law is the bargain basement fire sale of the legal world. I’ve more than once had people casually mention to me with complete certainty at social gatherings how they know criminal lawyers are the richest of all lawyers, while the reality of them being the poorest paid of all the legal specialties is exactly the opposite. I’m never sure where people get that impression from, since watching cops and robbers shows usually doesn't reveal lifestyles of the rich public defender (which perhaps seems more reserved on TV for civil and family litigators). But nonetheless, that’s the impression. 

However, the true reality of criminal lawyer fees is good news for anyone in Canada charged with or being investigated for an offence, or with a family member, loved one or friend in that position. The secret to this criminal law bargain is predictability and efficiency in criminal court procedure.

Unlike in family or civil litigation, where it’s mostly private litigants butting heads who can and do spend each other into the ground if they so choose, in criminal litigation you’re up against the Crown. While there is some variability in the way the Crown might respond depending on who is the individual Crown assigned to your file, they still in theory all have to play fair and follow lots of rules. And if they don’t, you can turn to the courts for help. I served for many years as a Federal Crown myself, so I’m speaking from experience. 

Here are my top five myths to avoid on defending a criminal charge and hiring a criminal lawyer that can all cost you plenty in the end if you fall into their traps.

1. I’m Guilty So I Don’t Need a Lawyer 

What you “did” or didn’t do may have little bearing on a court being able to convict you of what you are accused of. Even if you “did” something, you might be charged with an offence completely unrelated to that something. Or charged with many offences unrelated to anything you did. Or there may be major technical problems with the charges, like their being laid outside the limitation periods. 

Even if you do ultimately plead guilty, the type of punishment you get can vary from potentially wrecking your life to having only innocuous effects, all without jail being a risk on either end of the punishment spectrum. For example, if you don’t have a criminal record, and you get offered a harmless little sounding thing called a “suspended sentence,” you might think you should jump at it, because there’s no jail and no fine!

But what if you then lose your job or can’t travel internationally, because you’ve suddenly got a criminal record? The small amount of money you might have saved on not hiring a lawyer will be more than set off by potentially huge loss of income or life freedoms.

A lawyer might have been able to get you a “discharge” for exactly the same conduct, which wouldn’t be a criminal conviction counting against you. Or could at least explain and negotiate all the possible outcomes in order to get the optimal one for you, that would best fit your life circumstances.

2. Always Hire the Lawyer Who Guarantees a Result

It’s never a bargain to hire a lawyer who is offering you “guarantees” they can’t uphold. Run away from any criminal lawyer as fast as you can who guarantees you a result. Trust me, that just isn’t possible. Criminal law results are ultimately up to the judge hearing your case, even on a guilty plea where the Crown is in agreement with the defence as to sanction.

If anything, you want to hire the lawyer who tells you the truth, not what you want to hear. 

That doesn’t mean you should hire (or keep) anyone who you feel is unreasonably pressuring you to plead guilty, by telling you you’re guaranteed to lose at trial. It’s always completely your choice on whether or not to plead. Your lawyer can only give you advice. It’s always better going to trial and losing, than pleading guilty to something you didn’t do. 

3. The Cheapest/Most Expensive Lawyer is Always the Best

In law, like in many things in life, you don’t always get what you pay (or don’t pay) for. There are no law society rules in Canada dictating what defence lawyers can and can’t charge. The market sets their rates. 

Certainly defence lawyers have to be competitive. But you’ll need to carefully compare fee quotes to see what is or isn’t being included in the quote. This isn’t like buying a car, where the brochure carefully explains the extra options of each more expensive trim level.

The cheapest lawyer quote risks not including all the services you need, or having hidden extras. The most expensive lawyer quote risks you buying more services than you need. And neither cheapness nor expense may be tightly tied to experience, where while one might think the cheap lawyers are the least experienced and the most expensive are the most experienced, that isn’t always true, and especially may not translate into who can achieve what results for you. 

Most agree that a “block” flat legal fee quote is best where possible for criminal court cases (and is a thing most criminal lawyers will provide), but check what that really includes:

• is it for the entire proceeding including the trial and do you really need that?

• if it is for part of the proceeding, how much of the proceeding is included?

• are there extra charges for other optional proceedings?

• are you paying for travel time, travel costs, or other disbursements?

• does the lawyer clearly set out all her or his fees in writing?

And as attractive as a block fee might be, sometimes an hourly rate might actually be cheapest for you depending on your type of case as it lets you only use the services you need. Ask any prospective lawyer about the pros and cons of block fees versus hourly rates. 

4. Rolling the Dice at Trial is Always the Best Plan

The most certain way to cost yourself way more money on a defence lawyer than needs to be spent, and get an inferior result, is to think it best to always gamble with a trial. True, proof beyond a reasonable doubt is a high standard for the Crown to meet. And your lawyer will tell you how strong or weak the Crown’s case is.

But insisting on a trial where a good early plea resolution deal is to be had will definitely cost you way more money than resolving (generally proportionate to the number of trial days required), and could make all the difference between jail or no jail, or discharge versus conviction, because going to trial means you’re not cutting a discount deal with the Crown, and the trial judge likewise isn’t giving you a discount for an early plea because you’ve taken up trial time. 

Yes, you’ll always have a shot at an acquittal at trial. But that’s what it is: a gamble. You might get lucky or unlucky with the judge you get. You might get lucky or unlucky as to what witnesses remember. But at the very least, you’ll pay a lot more in fees. 

Remember, as a criminal defence lawyer, I support myself and my family from those who do pay more by going to trial. But it’s my duty to get you the optimal result, not to needlessly take your case to trial so that I can bill you more. Sometimes trials are absolutely needed. I’ve done hundreds of them. But often they aren’t required, and that will save you lots of money.

5. No Need to Worry Too Much About the Trial Result Since You Can Always Appeal

Your best legal shot is always at trial as compared to an appeal, if you can’t resolve your case pre-trial. At trial, there is an at least in theory level playing field. On appeal, according to Court of Appeal for Ontario statistics you’ll at best stand a 1 in 3 shot. And that’s not of acquittal, only of getting some remedy. Maybe only a reduced sentence. Or maybe a new trial, which will cost you lots more money. 

And be certain that appeals are definitely not cheap. For the most part, they cost more than trials, because of the transcript costs of all the trial proceedings, and because of all the time that is required to be devoted to drafting complex legal written submissions and combing through all trial exhibits. 

So think of an appeal as a last resort. Yes, if you’re facing really serious charges, you might need to budget in advance for an appeal in addition to the trial in order to lessen the risk of a decade in jail if you lose the trial. But if your budget is tight, it’s definitely the trial rather than the appeal that you should be investing in by hiring a good lawyer at earliest time possible.

Gordon Scott Campbell is a defence lawyer who represents clients on criminal, regulatory and professional conduct hearings, trials and appeals throughout Canada up to the level of the Supreme Court of Canada. He previously served as a Federal Crown Prosecutor and is author of The Investigator’s Legal Handbook/Le manuel juridique de l’enquêteur (Carswell/Yvon Blais, 2006, 2010 francais, 2014 2nd ed, 3rd ed forthcoming). Learn more at www.defenceeast.com and www.proconductlaw.com.