7.1 - Criminal Court Structure

Criminal Court Structure

Canada has several different types of courts that hear a variety of types of cases.  Trials for crimes that occur in British Columbia would be heard in one or more of the following types and levels of courts:  BC Provincial Court, BC Supreme Court, BC Court of Appeal, Federal Court (Trial or Appeal Division), and the Supreme Court of Canada.  Here is a brief summary of these types of court.

BC Provincial Court

The lowest level of court in BC is the BC Provincial Court.  The types of trial and related legal matters that are held here include:  Criminal Court (less serious criminal cases), Youth Court (criminal), Family Court, Small Claims Court (for claims between $5001 and $35,000), and Traffic, Ticket and Bylaw.

There are some key notes relative to criminal cases heard in BC Provincial Court.  First, only the least serious cases are heard here.  These include summary conviction offences, as well as a sampling of the lesser serious indictable offences.  Second, preliminary hearings for more serious charges are heard in this court, before they move to trial in BC Supreme Court.  Third, cases heard in BC Provincial Court are heard by a judge only.  There is no option for a jury trial in this level of court.  Finally, Provincial Court cases that are appealed are heard by the BC Court of Appeal.

BC Supreme Court

The next level of court hearing criminal cases in BC is the BC Supreme Court.  Unlike BC Provincial Court, this level of court hears criminal trials resulting from the most serious charges.  Criminal trials held in this level of court may be heard by a judge alone, or by a judge and jury.  Further, the Supreme Court hears civil cases with damages exceeding $35,000.  Just as with Provincial Court, appeals from BC Supreme Court decisions are heard by the BC Court of Appeal.

BC Court of Appeal

Once cases are heard and judges make a decision, sometimes the trial process is still not over.  If either side in a criminal trial (crown or defence) thinks that there was a mistake in law, then they can apply to have a higher court review the judge’s decision.  This higher court in BC is called the Court of Appeal.  During a criminal trial, only one judge presides, but the Court of Appeal has three judges preside over the review of a lower court decision.  These judges have the power to accept/reinforce the lower court decision, reverse the lower court decision, or order a new trial.  Appeals from the BC Court of Appeal are heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Federal Court of Canada

The Federal Court of Canada is Canada's national trial court, hearing cases related to claims against the Government of Canada, as well as trials related to citizenship, taxation, Competition Act, and other such federal matters.  The Federal Court has its own appeals division, so any appeals from Federal Court decisions are then heard by the appeals division of the Federal Court.  The workings of this court is not a focus of this course.

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court in the country.  This means that its decisions are binding, with no further appeals possible.  Each case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada is heard by a group of 5-9 judges, with the majority vote being the resultant decision.  This court may hear appeals from any source of law (constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law, or civil law).  Similar to other appeals courts, the Supreme Court of Canada may accept/reinforce a lower court decision, reverse the lower court decision, or order a new trial.

Criminal Court Participants

Each criminal trial in Canada includes a number of people fulfilling certain professional roles.  These roles include judges, lawyers, support professionals, and others.  Consider first the person in charge of proceedings in a criminal court.  This is, of course, the judge.  The judge is a court official appointed to try cases in a court of law, and to sentence convicted persons.  In certain situations, a justice of the peace may appear instead of a judge.  A justice of the peace is a court official who has less authority than a judge, but who can issue warrants and perform some other judicial functions, such as preside over ‘traffic court’ hearings.

Another set of key participants in a criminal trial are the lawyers.  On the one side is defence counsel (also called defence lawyers).  They are responsible for representing the person accused of the crime.  Defence attorneys work to create ‘doubt’ as to guilt of the accused in the mind of the judge or jury.  If a person is charged with a crime, and they cannot afford to hire a defence attorney, then the court may appoint duty counsel to represent them.  Duty counsel are lawyers that are available for free criminal consultations when people are arrested or brought before a court.  They are available either in person at a courthouse, or via telephone.  Lawyers on the other side are called Crown counsel (or Crown prosecutors).  They represent the government, and are responsible for instituting legal proceedings against the accused.  Crown counsel tries to prove guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

Besides judges and lawyers, there are still other key players in a criminal trial.  The first of these other participants is the court clerk, which is the court official that assists the judge.  This role involves helping with all of the administrative tasks involved in running the trial, such as swearing in witnesses, organizing evidence, scheduling appearances, etc.  Another participant used to be the court reporter - the person responsible for typing a full transcript of each trial.  However, this role doesn’t exist anymore, as electronic microphones now record everything that happens in a trial.  Third, the bailiff is the person in a courtroom that looks like a police officer.  Bailiffs perform several important functions including courtroom security, prisoner escort and transfer, as well as security for juries.  Fourth, a jury (if present) is a group of 12 people that are responsible for deciding whether the accused is guilty or not guilty.  Jury decisions must be unanimous, otherwise a mistrial might be declared.  Finally, witnesses are vital participants in any criminal trial.  These are the people that give evidence under oath (or affirmation) in a court.  Witnesses can be anyone that has information to present in a criminal case; whereas, eyewitnesses are those witnesses who actually saw the crime happen.

The diagram below illustrates a sample courtroom layout for a BC Supreme Court jury trial.

Summary

Canada's court system is designed so that different courts have jurisdiction over different types of legal matters.  Not only do different courts have different roles, but within any court are legal professionals that take on different roles within the court system to make it operate as smoothly and efficiently as possible to dispense justice.