Criminal Law Review

a count that contains more than a single transaction

evidence that is incriminating

evidence that relieves of blame or liability

a sentencing  submission put forth to the court that has been agreed to by both the Crown and defence

a mini trial or trial within a trial that is designed to determine the admissibility of evidence

a special plea that is made by a person charged with a criminal offence where the person has previously been acquitted or found not guilty in respect of the charge and thus cannot be tried again for the same offence

a special plea that is made by a person charged with a criminal offence where the person has previously been convicted or found guilty in respect of the charge and thus cannot be tried again for the same offence

a special plea where the commission of a criminal offence and the relevant penalty are forgiven, usually by a head of state or by an act of Parliament

an early appearance in court to set a trial date in a case

similar to a motion, it is a hearing that usually concerns a procedural issue before a final decision is reached in the case

separation of one matter or issue into two or more with each being decided on its own without regard for the other(s)

specific details supporting a more general statement or proposition; in criminal law, an application for particulars is normally a request for a detailed itemization of a count in an Information

supervision by the court of a legal case as it proceeds through the justice system; the concept of case management has existed for years in civil cases, but is a relatively recent phenomenon in criminal cases

an informal meeting between a judge, Crown, and defence to facilitate a more efficient preliminary inquiry; a new feature of the Criminal Rules of the Ontario Court of Justice

procedural devices that occur before trial where a party is able to obtain evidence from an adverse party: in civil law, any party can discover any adverse party; in criminal law, only the accused may have discovery rights

principle of the adversarial system in which one side in a legal proceeding is given an opportunity to question the witnesses for the opposing party in order to challenge their evidence and the entire case

a document that compels a witness to attend court; in civil proceedings the document is often called a summons (under the Criminal Code, however, a summons is a document that compels the accused to attend court)

initial questioning of a witness that is conducted by the party who called the witness to provide evidence in the proceeding; also called an examination-in-chief

a book for use at trial by a legal representative where all papers and documents relating to the proceeding are organized in an easy-touse and easy-to-find way

a book for use at trial by the parties and the court containing all authorities, including cases and legislation that will be relied upon at trial

array these terms are used interchangeably and refer to the large pool from which a jury is selected

the ability of the Crown and the accused to reject a potential juror without further explanation or reason

the ability of the Crown and the accused to challenge a prospective juror’s impartiality

in general, the act of making a presentation or an assertion; can also be used to mean “closing argument

a second questioning of a witness that is conducted by the party who called the witness to provide evidence in the proceeding; a re-examination will follow a cross-examination

a motion to the court by the accused for an acquittal immediately following the completion of the Crown’s case when there has not been any evidence upon which a reasonable jury, properly instructed, could convict the accused; sometimes referred to as a non-suit

a witness who is lawfully capable of giving evidence; a competent witness may give evidence

a witness who can be lawfully required to give evidence; a compellable witness can be forced to give evidence

evidence that contradicts or refutes earlier evidence

generally, evidence of innocence—usually that the accused was somewhere else when the crime was committed; the word “alibi” derives from the Latin term for “elsewhere”

evidence that contradicts or refutes rebuttal evidence; it is essentially a rebuttal to a rebuttal

a trial that has been terminated before reaching its conclusion because of an irregularity

a court order that requires a person to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a specified period of time; it is not a conviction or a finding of guilt

a principle of sentencing that focuses on denouncing or condemning criminal behaviour

a principle of sentencing that focuses on deterring or discouraging criminal behaviour

a principle of sentencing that focuses on repairing the harm done by the offender to the victim or to society as a whole

circumstances surrounding the commission of an offence that increase the penalty associated with the offence

circumstances surrounding the commission of an offence that reduce the penalty associated with the offence

a sentence where there has been a finding of guilt made against the offender, but where no conviction is registered

a sentence similar to an absolute discharge except that it takes effect only after the offender has satisfied specified court-imposed conditions

a sentence that requires the offender to compensate the victim for any loss or injury arising out of the commission of the offence

a sentence that permits an offender to live in the community but under supervision and subject to various conditions

a sentence where the sentencing court suspends or holds in abeyance the passing of a sentence on an offender

credit for the period of time that an offender spends in pretrial custody

a jail sentence that is served in small blocks of time instead of all at once

a sentence in which the time that is actually spent in custody is the sum of all sentences, and the sentences are served one after another

a sentence in which the time that is actually spent in custody is determined by the longest sentence, and the sentences are served at the same time

the release of an offender from custody before the sentence has been fully completed, subject to various conditions

an order granted by the Parole Board of Canada that permits a qualifying offender to have a criminal record separated and kept apart from other criminal records; formerly called a pardon

basis upon which an appeal can be commenced and be successful

a legal test that focuses on the actions and beliefs of a hypothetical reasonable person; includes a consideration of reasonableness

a legal test that focuses on the actions and beliefs of the person in issue; does not include a consideration of reasonableness

a standard of review that permits an appellate court to substitute its decision for the decision of a lower court only when the decision of the lower court is unreasonable

the manner in which an appellate court will evaluate the decision of a lower court

an error in the interpretation or application of law; an error of law is understood by contrasting it with an error of fact, which is an error in the resolution of the facts in issue

a standard of review that permits an appellate court to substitute its decision for the decision of a lower court when, in its opinion, the decision of the lower court is incorrect or wrong

where permission to appeal is a prerequisite to hearing the appeal; the purpose is to establish a threshold that must be met before an appeal can be heard by an appellate court

a book that contains all of the documents that are necessary for the hearing of an appeal by an appellate court

a form of appeal where the appellate court holds a new trial without any regard to the first trial; the appeal essentially takes the form of a completely new trial, as if the previous trial had not occurred

various options outside the traditional criminal justice system that are available for dealing with offenders

redirection of a criminal charge from prosecution to an alternative program that often focuses on rehabilitation

circumstances surrounding the commission of an offence that increase the culpability associated with the offence