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| Patrick Ducharme |
For non-jury trials, section 625.1 provides that either party or the trial court on its own motion may apply to hold a pre-trial conference. A pre-trial conference is required prior to a jury trial. It is not statutorily mandated for non-jury trials. Some courts have used section 482, which empowers the Superior Courts and the Courts of Appeal to make rules that apply to any prosecution or proceeding, to regulate pre-trial conferences.
Section 482 provides that every Superior Court of criminal jurisdiction and every Court of Appeal may make rules of court consistent with this or any other Act of Parliament, and any such rules apply to any prosecution, proceeding, action or appeal within the jurisdiction of that court, instituted in relation to any matter of a criminal nature or arising from or incidental to any such prosecution, proceeding, action or appeal.
A pre-trial Judge may not have jurisdiction to review Crown disclosure decisions or to order disclosure.1
Despite holding a pre-trial conference, a prosecutor is still able to make decisions such as altering the charges post pre-trial.2
Section 625.1 provides:
625.1(1): Subject to subsection (2), on application by the prosecutor or the accused or on its own motion, the court, or a Judge of the court, before which, or the Judge, provincial court Judge or Justice before whom, any proceedings are to be held may order that a conference between the prosecutor and the accused or counsel for the accused, to be presided over by the court, Judge, provincial court Judge or Justice, be held prior to the proceedings to consider the matters that, to promote a fair and expeditious hearing, would be better decided before the start of the proceedings, and other similar matters, and to make arrangements for decisions on those matters.
(2) Mandatory pre-trial hearing for jury trials — In any case to be tried with a jury, a Judge of the court before which the accused is to be tried shall, before the trial, order that a conference between the prosecutor and the accused or counsel for the accused, to be presided over by a Judge of that court, be held in accordance with the rules of court made under sections 482 and 482.1 to consider any matters that would promote a fair and expeditious trial.
The above is the an excerpt of Patrick J Ducharme's book, Canadian Criminal Procedure, available at Amazon or in bulk through MedicaLegal Publishing along with Criminal Trial Strategies.
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