The cop must inform you of your rights and allow you to exercise those rights.
He must inform you that you have the right to remain silent, the right to a lawyer without delay upon detention or arrest. He must inform you that you can speak to one free of charge and that there are legal aid lawyers. He musn’t just tell you you have the right to a lawyer, he must allow you to exercice that right as soon as possible. Moreover, you have the right to be promptly informed of the reason for your detention or arrest. If you are not told or given the opportunity to exercice these rights in a a timely manner, you can benefit from a remedy later on in court if you are charged. One of the most common remedies if your rights were violated is the exclusion of evidence, which will often lead to an acquittal. If you think your rights were infringed contact us now.
The cop can release you with or without conditions. He can give you a promise to appear, which is a document that informs you of the upcoming court appearance as well as information on when you must attend for fingerprinting for offences that are indictable or hybrid (straight summary conviction offences do not require fingerprinting). To know the difference between indictable and summary offences click here.
If you receive a promise to appear you will see a series of conditions that you must respect until the first date you appear before the court. The cop may also tell you that you will receive a summons by the court which means you will receive in the mail a document telling you what day you must appear before the court and it’s a judge that emits the document.
If the cop decides to keep you detained, then you will appear before the court within 24 hours and there will be a date fixed for your bail hearing, which can be held either the same day you appear or within the 3 following days. This delay can be extended if you deem it necessary. The crown attorney can also speak to your lawyer and agree on a set of conditions for you to be released. To know more about what happens during the bail hearing click here.
To know what happens on the first court appearance click here.
