A reader asks: "How Do I Know if I Should Plead Guilty to the Charges Against
Me?"
The short answer is: If you are not a criminal defence lawyer, and
you have not reviewed the evidence that the police and Crown attorney have about
your case, YOU DON'T KNOW.
A criminal defence lawyer does a lot more for
his or her clients than conduct the trial. Before a trial date is even
scheduled, a good criminal defence lawyer will do the following for
you:
1. Obtain all of the Crown evidence ("disclosure") and review it to
see if there is enough evidence to convict you of the charges. This is not as
straightforward as it sounds. This requires careful review of the police records
and notebooks to ascertain that all evidence was provided and then examining the
offence you have been charged with. Usually there are a number of different
aspects of the charge that the Crown has to prove before you will be
convicted.
2. Conduct an assessment of the witnesses who will testify
against you. Do they have criminal records? Do they have a reason to lie to the
police or to the Court? A criminal defence lawyer carefully considers those
questions.
3.Meet with the Crown attorney to determine the best deal
available. A criminal defence lawyer who has reviewed the disclosure and is
aware of the weaknesses in the Crown's case will be able to negotiate a better
deal.
4. Meet with the Crown attorney and a judge to try an achieve an
acceptable deal and /or a withdrawal of the charges against you.
5.
Measure the steps taken by the authorities to see if there are any violations of
your rights. In some situations, a Charter breach can lead to a dismissal of
your case. In other case, evidence may be excluded from the courtroom if it was
found by the police in breach of the Charter.
6. Consider whether the
criminal charge itself is contrary to the Charter. Many sections of the Criminal
Code of Canada have been struck down by the court because an attentive defense
lawyer realized that they were too broadly worded or had another
defect.
7. Explain to you the likely outcome if you do plead guilty or
are unsuccessful at trial. A criminal lawyer is aware of the proper scope for
sentences for offences and situations like yours.
8. Help you to take
steps before sentencing to improve the outcome. For example, a criminal defence
lawyer can assist you to find drug and alcohol counseling programs, anger
management treatment, get letters of reference or take other steps to minimize
sentencing.
It is only when all of these steps have been taken that you
are truly in a position to decide whether it is in your best interest to plead
guilty.
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Lawyers Richard Auger and Brenda Hollingsworth
defend people in Ontario accused of criminal offences. They have written
"Fighting Impaired Driving Charges in Ontario" which is available for free by
visiting http://www.ottawalawfirm.ca
; emailing info@ottawalawfirm.ca or calling 613.233.4529.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is
provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice
provided to you by any health care or other professional or
organization.
