26 Ways the Charter Protects You – Twenty-Six Facts About the Charter and You

What Your Criminal Defence Lawyer Should Tell You

Make sure your criminal defence lawyer protects your constitutional rights when you are charged with a criminal offence.

You have:

1. the right to remain silent.
2. the right to a lawyer, including the right to consult that lawyer privately.
3. the right to a fair trial.
4. the right to a trial without undue delay.
5. the right to a trial in English or French.
6. the right to know why you have been arrested.
7. the right not to testify against yourself.
8. the right to an interpreter in court.
9. the right to an impartial tribunal.
10. the right to reasonable bail.
11. the right to be tried by a judge and jury (in most cases).
12. the right to be presumbed innocent.

You cannot be:

1. detained arbitrarily (except in some limited circumstances).
2. detained without being brought before a justice within 24 hours.
3. subjected to an unreasonable search of your person, your home or your car.
4. charged with an offence on the basis of racial profiling.
5. charged tried twice for the same offence.
6. be convicted of an offence that is overly broad.
7. be convicted of an offence that is sexist, racist or otherwise discriminatory.

What if Your Charter Rights are Violated?

1. Evidence obtained by the Crown in a way that violates the Charter may be excluded from use against you at trial.
2. If you are charged with an offence that violates the Charter, the offence and the charges with it, may be struck down.
3. If your trial was delayed too long the charges against you could be stayed.
4. If the violation of your Charter rights brings the administration of justice into disrepute, your charges may be stayed.

Are these Charter remedies automatic?

1. No. Charter remedies are usually only granted where the criminal defence lawyer asks for them.
2. Your criminal lawyer must carefully review the file for Charter violations.
3. Your criminal lawyer must prepare, file and actually argue Charter motions before the trial judge.

• Make sure your criminal defence lawyer knows the Charter and uses it to your full advantage.
• Ask your criminal defence lawyer what motions he or she will bring on your behalf.
• Ask your criminal defence lawyer whether he or she regurlarly bring Charter motions
• Ask your criminal defence lawyer whether he or she regularly wins Charter motions.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, make sure you have an experienced criminal defence lawyer who knows how to enforce your Charter rights.  Contact a criminal lawyer at Auger Hollingsworth by clicking here or by calling 613 233-4529.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.