What You Should Know About Criminal Law In Canada
Posted on: 19 August 2022
If you're a Canadian citizen or just visiting Canada, you might find yourself on the wrong side of the law. Whether you're in fact guilty of the crime or trying to prove your innocence, you'll need to deal with the criminal law system in Canada as you wait for your case to be decided. A criminal defense lawyer can be hired to assist you through each legal process that you may be required to go through after you've been arrested. Along with the help you receive from a criminal defense lawyer, you'll stand a better chance of keeping your rights protected if you know these important facts about Canadian criminal law.
You may be entitled to a bail hearing.
If you've been taken into police custody because of a criminal accusation, you may be released soon after if you promise to appear in court. However, the police might decide to hold you in jail, and the criminal law of Canada entitles you to a bail hearing before a Justice of the Peace within 24 hours of your arrest. During this hearing, you may be released on bail with the condition that you'll show up to court or be ordered to remain in custody until your trial. Unlike in the United States, you won't have to pay money to post bail in Canada in most cases.
Your violation might be considered a provincial offense.
The Criminal Code of Canada governs serious criminal offenses, but you may only be charged with a less-serious provincial offense if the alleged crime that you committed was minor. Unlike Criminal Code of Canada violations, a provincial offense charge won't go on your criminal record. Some violations that are often deemed provincial offenses include trespassing, driving without a license, and being intoxicated in public.
Hate speech is considered a crime in Canada.
Whether you live in Canada or are just visiting, you might have to be more careful about what you say in the country than you would if you were in the United States. Canada has laws that govern hate speech, and you could be arrested if you make defamatory comments about someone or incite violence. Canada also has laws against libel crimes, so you should be careful about what you write in print or post online. Certain hate speech case rulings in Canada have been upheld while others have been overturned through appeals.
Canada has its own Supreme Court.
Like the United States, Canada has a Supreme Court that makes final rulings on federal cases that were appealed in lower courts. The Supreme Court of Canada is made up of nine judges who hear cases that weren't finalized by the Federal Court of Appeal, the Tax Court of Canada, or one of the other lower courts. If you want your case to be decided by the Supreme Court, your criminal defense lawyer may have experience in arguing clients' cases before these judges and may represent you throughout your hearing.
Laws are important to follow in any country, and Canada is certainly no exception. If you want to stay out of legal trouble in Canada, you should inform yourself of Canada's specific criminal laws and how the legal system works, and you can also hire a criminal defense lawyer to help you make better sense of everything.
Contact an attorney for more information about criminal law.
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