Reference
Criminal Law Glossary
Plain-language definitions of criminal law terms used in Ontario courts — bail, disclosure, Charter rights, peace bonds, and more.
A
- Acquittal
An acquittal is a formal finding by a judge or jury that the accused is not guilty of the offence charged. It means the Crown failed to prove every element of t…
- Approved Screening Device (ASD)
An Approved Screening Device is a handheld breathalyzer used by police at the roadside to test whether a driver has alcohol in their body. The ASD gives one of …
B
- Bail Hearing
A bail hearing — formally a judicial interim release hearing — is a court proceeding where a justice of the peace or judge decides whether an accused person wil…
- Breathalyzer
A breathalyzer — formally an approved instrument — is the device used at the police station to measure a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Unlike the …
C
- Care and Control
Care and control is an impaired driving offence under section 320.14 of the Criminal Code. A person commits this offence by having care or control of a motor ve…
- Charter Rights
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982. It guarantees fundamental rights to every person in Canada, including those…
- Consent (Sexual Assault)
In Canadian criminal law, consent to sexual activity is defined in section 273.1 of the Criminal Code as the voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in…
- Criminal Record
A criminal record is the formal record maintained by the RCMP in the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database showing that a person has been convicted…
- Crown Attorney
The Crown attorney — formally the Assistant Crown Attorney or Crown counsel — is the prosecutor in criminal cases. Crown attorneys are lawyers employed by the p…
D
- Dangerous Offender
A dangerous offender designation is the most severe sentence available in Canadian criminal law. Under Part XXIV of the Criminal Code (sections 752–761), the Cr…
- Discharge
A discharge is a sentencing outcome under section 730 of the Criminal Code where the accused is found guilty but is not convicted. Because there is no convictio…
- Disclosure
Disclosure is the Crown's obligation to provide the accused with all relevant information in its possession — whether it helps or hurts the Crown's case. The ri…
- Diversion
Diversion is a program that allows certain accused persons to have their criminal charges withdrawn without a trial or guilty plea. The accused completes condit…
- Duty Counsel
Duty counsel are lawyers funded by Legal Aid Ontario who provide free legal assistance to unrepresented accused persons at the courthouse. They are available at…
P
- Peace Bond
A peace bond is a court order under section 810 of the Criminal Code that requires a person to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a specified period, t…
- Probation
Probation is a sentencing disposition under section 731 of the Criminal Code that allows an offender to serve part or all of their sentence in the community und…
R
- Recognizance
A recognizance is a formal acknowledgment before a court in which a person pledges to comply with certain conditions and, in some cases, pledges a sum of money …
- Record Suspension (Pardon)
A record suspension — formerly called a pardon — is an order under the Criminal Records Act that sets aside a person's criminal record so that it no longer appe…
- Right to Counsel
The right to counsel is guaranteed by section 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Upon arrest or detention, every person has the right to reta…
- Right to Silence
The right to silence is a fundamental principle of Canadian criminal law rooted in section 7 of the Charter (the right to life, liberty, and security of the per…
S
- Section 10(b) of the Charter
Section 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that everyone has the right on arrest or detention "to retain and instruct counsel without…
- Section 24(2) of the Charter
Section 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that evidence obtained in a manner that infringed or denied any Charter right shall be exc…
- Section 276 Application
A section 276 application is a pre-trial motion in a sexual assault case where the defence seeks to introduce evidence of the complainant's prior sexual activit…
- Sexual Interference
Sexual interference is an offence under section 151 of the Criminal Code that criminalizes the touching of a person under the age of 16 for a sexual purpose. Un…
- Stay of Proceedings
A stay of proceedings is a court order or Crown decision that suspends the prosecution of a criminal charge. No trial takes place, and the charge effectively en…
- Summary Conviction Offence
A summary conviction offence is the less serious category of criminal offence in Canadian law. Pure summary conviction offences — such as causing a disturbance …
- Surety
A surety is a person who agrees to supervise an accused person while they are released on bail, and who pledges a sum of money that may be forfeited if the accu…