At a sentencing hearing, a well-prepared lawyer will highlight the accused?s background and place as much positive spin on it as possible.
A good defence lawyer will focus on an offender?s attributes, the positive things that the offender has done over the years. They will look for the mitigating factors with respect to the allegation [...]
People may think that pleading guilty will simply speed up the sentencing process. I often tell people that if they are going to plead guilty, they need a lawyer just as much as they would if they were going to fight the charge, because if you plead guilty, there are some important factors that need to be considered.
Bail is available for everyone charged with an offence, not but everyone receives it.
A number of factors are looked at. The first point the court considers is whether this person has roots in the community and whether or not he will attend court as required. If he is strongly connected to the community, for [...]
Plea bargain discussions between the Crown and the defence lawyer can take place immediately.
As soon as an individual is charged, as the defence lawyer, I will seek the Crown and ask for disclosure: the reports, the officer?s notes, the details of what is being alleged. In the course of these discussions, I also keep [...]
A criminal lawyer should be consulted anytime that someone receives a phone call from the police saying that they are going to be charged with committing a criminal offence.
It doesn?t matter whether you are guilty or not; you should consult a lawyer, especially if you are uncertain or uncomfortable about speaking to the police. [...]
