Affordable Ottawa Criminal Appeal Lawyers

If you have been convicted of a crime and either want to appeal the conviction or the sentence you have received, you need a lawyer who is familiar with the Ontario appeal court.

As experienced criminal appeal lawyers, Affordable Defence in Ottawa can represent you throughout this process.

Our lawyers will help you build a strong case and provide you with a second chance of an acquittal or reduced sentence if an error was made during your original trial.

There are three basic categories of criminal offences in Canada:

Summary Conviction Offences

If your conviction proceeds as a summary offence, it means that your crime was amongst the least serious crimes as detailed in the Criminal Code of Canada.

It is the equivalent of a misdemeanour in the U.S. justice system and includes offences such as possession of marijuana under 30 grams, public nudity or assisting a deserter.

A more complete list of such offences can be seen in the table below.

Summary offences generally involve no jury. The judge usually makes the decision of whether to convict the accused (and of the severity of the associated punishment), based on the evidence presented.

Indictable Offences

Compared to summary offences in Canada, there are more offences that are classed as indictable.

These offences include the most serious crimes including murder, acts of terrorism, and certain types of sexual assault or drug crimes.

Some of these offences carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and many carry mandatory minimum jail terms.

Hybrid Offences

With hybrid offences, the Crown prosecution can choose to proceed by indictment or summary conviction.

These offences include most medium-severity offences (the most common type in Canada) including assault, fraud under $500,000, theft under $5000 or cocaine possession.

The Crown will weigh up the following factors and then decide to proceed either by summary conviction or indictment:

• The evidence against the defendant
• The seriousness of the alleged crime
• The criminal record of the defendant
• The perception of the particular crime in the community
• The available court resources
• Whether it falls within the limitation period for a summary conviction

The decision of the Crown is essentially final, but a good defence lawyer will make a strong case to proceed with the most lenient outcome.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario effectively represents the last avenue of appeal for litigants in Ontario.

Here, panels of senior judges hear over 1,000 appeals and 1,000 motions per year. The court considers both civil and criminal appeals for decisions made by Ontario’s two trial courts, the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice.

In the case of criminal appeals, the Court of Appeal will have the final say on:

• The correctness of acquittals
• The correctness of convictions and
• The fitness of sentences

Appeals can be made to the court based on the Canadian Criminal Code and the Youth Criminal Justice Act, as well as appeals under provincial regulatory legislation, such as highway traffic, and workplace safety laws.

Where will my appeal be held?

The location of your appeal hearing depends on whether the case against you proceeded by summary conviction or indictment.

If it was a summary conviction and your trial took place in Ottawa, your appeal will be heard in the Summary Conviction Appeals Court in Ottawa.

If it was an indictment or you are appealing against a judgment of the Summary Conviction Appeals Court, your appeal will be heard in the Court of Appeal for Ontario in downtown Toronto.

If you are appealing against the Court of Appeal ruling (which is only possible in rare circumstances), it will be heard in the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa.

Will my appeal involve the same judge who originally sentenced me?

Your original trial was likely in the standard Ottawa court. If you appeal against the verdict, it will be heard by a panel of judges from a higher court.

There are usually panels of three to five judges hearing these appeals and they will not consult with the presiding judge at your original trial.

What are the conditions for the basis of my appeal?

If you do not agree with your conviction or the judge’s sentence, it does not mean that you have an automatic basis for an appeal.

There are certain conditions that apply before you can challenge a judge’s decision and lodge an appeal.

These include the belief that the judge has:

• Erred in the application of the law
• Misapprehended the facts of the case, or
• Erred based on a combination of the above

We will need to demonstrate this, in order for an appeal to be heard.

What is a conviction appeal?

A conviction appeal is lodged when you have reason to believe that you were wrongly found guilty of a criminal charge.

What is a sentence appeal?

A sentence appeal is lodged when you have reason to believe that the sentence you received for your conviction on a criminal charge was unfair.

In all types of appeals, your role will be mainly as an observer. Your appellate lawyer will handle the process and no testimony will be required from you or anybody else.

What is a summary conviction appeal?

A summary conviction appeal is where you appeal against the decision handed down in a trial that proceeded as a summary conviction (rather than an indictment). 

A summary conviction appeal is heard at a different court (based in Ottawa) to an indictment appeal (which is heard in Toronto).