Hi again, grthumongous,
"The first hearing with a presiding justice of the peace, crown
attorney, private "chargor" is apparently known as a pre-enquat or pre
hearing."
The first hearing before a judge is known as the "pre-trial" or
"pre-hearing conference" and takes place prior to the "preliminary
hearing", witnesses are not invited to attend the pre-trial. It is at
the later preliminary hearing when some witnesses for the Crown may be
summoned to appear to support their case that there is enough evidence
to proceed to trial, but witnesses for the defense will not be called
at this time.
>>> PRE-TRIAL
Is the pre-trial conference important?
"Yes! The purpose of a pre-trial meeting is to bring both sides
together in an informal setting. The judge, referee or other person
appointed by the court tries to define or narrow the disagreement and
resolve the problem before the trial begins. He or she helps the
parties understand the factual and legal problems and makes sure that
each side will know what the other side will bring to or say at the
trial through witnesses or documents. The pre-trial official will also
try to see if there is any way the dispute can be settled without
going to a formal trial.
A pre-trial conference can be requested by either party in the lawsuit
or may be ordered by a judge. It is very important to attend this
meeting. Although witnesses do not attend a pre-trial conference you
should bring all your documents.
If no agreement can be reached at this time, a trial date will
generally be set by the court. There is a fee that must be paid for
scheduling the trial. A notice of trial setting out the trial date,
time and location may be mailed to you."
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/scc/sccbook-ch11.asp
ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE
RULES OF THE ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
PART II PRE-TRIAL PROCEEDINGS
27.03 (1) Unless otherwise ordered by the pre-hearing conference judge
in accordance with rule 2.02, a pre-hearing conference shall be an
informal meeting conducted in chambers at which a full and free
discussion of the issues raised may occur without prejudice to the
rights of the parties in any proceedings thereafter taking place.
Specific Inquiries to be Made
(2) Without restricting the generality of rule 27.01 or subrule (1), a
pre-hearing conference judge may inquire as to
(a) the extent of disclosure made by the prosecutor and any or further
requests therefor by an accused or counsel of record for an accused;
(b) the nature and particulars of any applications to be made at the
outset of the proceedings including any
(i) application to contest the laying of the information or any count thereof,
(ii) application to stay or otherwise determine the proceedings prior
to plea or the introduction of evidence,
(iii) application to change the venue of trial or adjourn the hearing
of the proceeding, (iv) application to challenge the sufficiency of
the information, to order particulars or to amend the information or
any count thereof,
(v) application to sever the trial of any count(s) or accused from the
trial(s) of any other accused or count,
(vi) application concerning the special pleas of autrefois acquit,
autrefois convict or pardon, and
(vii) application to determine the fitness of an accused to stand trial;
(c) the possibility of resolution of any or all of the issues in the
proceedings, including the possible disposition of any or all counts
contained in the information whether by plea of guilty or otherwise;
(d) the simplification of such issues as remain to be contested at the proceedings;
(e) the possibility of obtaining admissions and agreements so as to
facilitate an expeditious, fair and just determination of the
proceedings;
(f) the estimated duration of the proceedings;
(g) the advisability of fixing a date for the commencement of the proceeding; and
(h) any other matter that may assist in promoting a fair, just and
expeditious proceeding.
http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/ontario_court_justice/provincial_rules/rules.htm#II
ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE
Rules of the Ontario Court in Criminal Proceedings - FORMS
http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/ontario_court_justice/provincial_rules/forms.htm
>>> PRELIMINARY HEARING
A Victim?s Guide to the Canadian Criminal Justice System: Questions and Answers
Prepared by the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime
24. What is a preliminary hearing/inquiry?
"A preliminary hearing is a court proceeding that is held before the
trial. Preliminary hearings are similar to trials but are usually much
shorter. The inquiry may be conducted by a Provincial Court judge or,
in some circumstances, by a justice of the peace. A preliminary
inquiry is not concerned with establishing the guilt or innocence of
the accused. It is not a trial. The purpose of the preliminary hearing
is to determine whether or not there is enough evidence to proceed
with a trial. During the preliminary hearing the Crown Prosecutor can
call witnesses to convince the judge that there is sufficient evidence
against the accused to proceed with a trial."
http://www.crcvc.ca/docs/VictimsGuidetotheCJS.pdf
Preliminary Hearing
"In serious criminal cases, a preliminary hearing is held to ensure
that sufficient evidence exists to justify a full trial. All
preliminary inquiries are held before provincial courts.
Among other things, the preliminary hearing is a chance for the Crown
prosecutor to present witnesses whose testimony may persuade the judge
there is enough evidence to go to trial.
The preliminary hearing is not meant to establish guilt or innocence.
It is an opportunity for the judge to evaluate the case before
choosing to proceed with or drop the charges. The judge may also
decide to upgrade or downgrade the charges.
If, after attending the preliminary hearing, the accused decides the
Crown has enough evidence, he or she may elect to enter a guilty plea,
thus eliminating the need for a full trial."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/publicationbans/
"The result of this is that the Crown Attorney may not call as many
witnesses at the preliminary hearing as at a trial. These witnesses
may be needed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt but not to
simply provide some evidence of guilt as required at a prelim. It is
also uncommon for the defence lawyer to call any defence witnesses at
the preliminary hearing. These witnesses are unlikely to affect the
outcome at this stage and so why reveal their evidence to the Crown
Attorney at such an early stage."
http://www.lawyers.ca/dharris/articles/preliminaryhearing.htm
Forms
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46/SI-97-133/text.html
"Judge David Vanek presided over her preliminary hearing, which
occupied forty-one days of evidence from over one hundred witnesses
and four days of argument by counsel."
http://www.lawyers.ca/dharris/articles/susannellescase.htm
Additional Link of Interest:
CH.1 OVERVIEW OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM in CANADA TRIAL PR(O)CEDURE
FIRS(T) COURT APPEARANCE
- accused is arraigned-- hears charges and enters plea, then preliminary hearing
INDICTMENT & PRELIMINARY INQUIRY
http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ecevans/erica1.rtf
Rules of the Ontario Court of Justice in Criminal Proceedings & Forms
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46/SI-97-133/text.html
The Criminal Court System
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:EmGCkHAhqwwJ:www.kawarthasexualassaultcentre.com/legalthree.htm+ontario+preliminary+hearing+witnesses&hl=en&client=firefox-a
The Quiz
http://www.johnhoward.on.ca/class/Quiz/takeit.htm
I hope this is what you need. As always, if you have any questions
please post a clarification request and I'll be happy to respond.
Thank you,
hummer
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I also searched the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General website. |
