I’ve Been Charged With an
Offence: What Now?
Getting a Lawyer
If the police have charged you with a criminal, drug or Youth
Criminal Justice offence and you have been given a court date
down the road:
 You should contact the Nova Scotia Legal Aid Office in the
community where you are required to appear in court: Legal
Aid Offices. You will then be assigned a lawyer who will
represent you in court. You will be provided with a lawyer
based on your income only – not that of your family or
guardians. This ensures that you are able to get a lawyer
regardless of your family’s circumstances and makes it clear
that you are the client, not your parent/guardian.
 It is important to call Legal Aid as soon as possible to be
sure you have a lawyer in court with you from your first
appearance. Even if you think you know what you want to
do in court, it is still important to get a lawyer. You may
have options available to that you didn’t know about and
this is what a lawyer could do:
 Help negotiate guilty pleas or sentence in advance of
entering a guilty plea to get you a better result;
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 The lawyer may see defences to the charges you
weren’t aware of;
 At the very least, a lawyer can explain the process to
you and help you speak to the court in most helpful
way;
 The lawyer will also get a complete copy of the Crown
Attorney’s file containing all of the police evidence
against you (called Disclosure) to review with you.
In some cases, usually if you have a criminal record or are
charged with a serious offence, the police will not release you
with a court date, but rather will hold you and bring you straight
to court to have a Judge determine whether you should be
released and, if so, on what conditions. If this happens:
 The police will provide your parent or guardian with notice
that you have been charged and will be appearing in court.
 When you arrive at court, a Duty Counsel Lawyer will be
expecting you and will be there to represent you for your
Bail Hearing. This lawyer will get information about your
plan, negotiate with the Crown Attorney and, if necessary,
conduct your Bail Hearing where release cannot be agreed
upon.
Once charged, you may be placed on conditions by the police or
the court (release conditions) in the form of an Undertaking or
Recognizance. If you are bound by any release conditions, it is
important to remember that they stay in force until your charges
are completely dealt with, or until the Judge orders a change
after a hearing. If you are found to be in breach of any of your
conditions you can be charged with a new criminal offence.
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Appearing In Court
The first court appearance is called an Arraignment. At the first
appearance the court will:
 Read the charges to you;
 Confirm your date of birth to be sure you are a youth;
 Confirm your parent or guardian is aware you are before the
court; and,
 Let you know what to do if you do not already have a
lawyer.
If your matter is fairly simple, sometimes Duty Counsel can help
you resolve it at the first appearance with a referral to
Restorative Justice (see below). More often, your matter will be
adjourned to a new court date so your plea can be entered after
you have had the chance to review the Disclosure and get legal
advice. It is very important to make and keep an appointment
with your lawyer so are ready to enter your plea at your next
court date.
At you plea date, as long as your lawyer has been provided with
all of the material they need to review with you by the Crown
Attorney, 3 different things can happen:
1. You can enter a guilty plea to some or all charges. If guilty
pleas are entered, you will be sentenced by the Judge,
usually after Probation Services prepare a Pre-Sentence
Report for the court;
2. You can enter not guilty pleas to the charges. If you plead
not guilty, a Trial date will be set; or,
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3. You can be referred to Restorative Justice. If you accept a
referral to Restorative Justice, your matter will be adjourned
without plea to give you time to complete the program.
Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice allows youth charged with offences to take
responsibility outside the formal court system. The Program is
different for everyone and can include victim input and
participation. The goals of the Program include rehabilitation of
the youth and addressing harm to victim and community.
There are several ways to become involved with the Restorative
Justice Program. If the police feel they have enough evidence to
charge you with an offence and feel you are prepared to take
responsibility, they can refer you straight to Restorative Justice
rather than make you go to court.
If you complete the Program, you will not be given a court date
and will not receive a conviction for the offence(s). There will still
be a record kept of your referral for a period of time so if you get
in trouble again the police and Crown Attorney will be aware of
the matter.
If you are formally charged and required to appear in court, you
can still be referred to Restorative Justice if the Crown Attorney
agrees:
1. There is enough evidence against you to proceed;
2. You are willing to take responsibility; and,
3. The Crown feels it is not against the public interest.
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Your lawyer can negotiate this referral with the Crown Attorney.
If you are referred, and successfully complete the Program, the
charge(s) against you will be dismissed so you will not be
sentenced or have a conviction on your record. Even though the
charge(s) is dismissed, there will still be a record kept of your
referral for a period of time so if you get in trouble again the
police and Crown Attorney will be aware of the matter.
If you do not successfully complete the Program, you will be
required to enter a plea in court.
For more information about the Nova Scotia Program visit
website: Restorative Justice Program
or
In Halifax, visit the Community Justice Society website as they
run the program in the Halifax region: Community Justice
Society.
Trial
In Canada, everyone who is charged with a crime is presumed to
be innocent and has the right to go to Trial to have the charges
against them proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Your lawyer can
help you decide whether this is the right choice for you.
If you have a Trial:
 The Crown Attorney will call witnesses identified by the
police to testify (give evidence) in court;
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 Your lawyer will have the chance to cross-examine the
Crown’s witnesses;
 Once the Crown has called all of their evidence, you have
the option of calling evidence and/or testifying yourself to
tell the Court your side of the story;
 Once all of the evidence has been presented, the Judge will
decide whether the Crown has proven your guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt;
 If the Court has some doubt about your guilt, you will be
found not guilty and will be acquitted.
 If the Judge is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that you
are guilty, you will be convicted and will then be sentenced.
Plea Bargains
If, after reviewing the Disclosure, you agree that you are guilty of
the crime(s) and that the Crown could prove your guilt to a court,
you may want your lawyer to negotiate a plea bargain with the
Crown Attorney. Your lawyer may be able to reach an agreement
for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge than the one
initially before the court, or if you are charged with more than
one offence, to reach an agreement for some of the charges to be
withdrawn if you plead guilty to others.
Sometimes, your lawyer can also negotiate your sentence in
advance of the guilty plea(s). This is why it is important to have a
lawyer even if you think you want to plead guilty. It is important
to remember that the Judge always makes the final decision on
sentence even when the lawyers have agreed to a joint
recommendation.
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Sentencing
If you plead guilty, or are found guilty after a trial, you will be
sentenced by the Judge. The sentence is your consequence for
committing the offence. In Youth Court, the purpose of
sentencing is not to punish, but to provide meaningful
consequences that hold you accountable and provide the best
chance of keeping you out of trouble in the future.
In Nova Scotia, under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, there are 13
different available sentences for youth found guilty of offences
other than murder. Some of these sentences can keep you from
having a conviction on your record. Records are kept different
periods of time depending on the sentence. Some of the
available sentences are:
 Reprimands – a court essentially gives you a lecture, but
nothing further is required of you. A record of this sentence
is only kept for 2 months.
 Conditional Discharge – the court places you on conditions
for a period of time, but as long as you complete the
discharge period with no further trouble, no conviction will
enter on your record.
 Probation – the court places you on conditions which usually
include a requirement to report to a Probation Officer.
 Community service work.
 Fine – you must be able to demonstrate to the court an
ability to pay the fine yourself.
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 Deferred Custody – a jail sentence that you are allowed to
serve in the community for as long as you follow the courtordered conditions.
 Custody and Supervision Order – a jail sentence, 2/3 of
which will be served at the Nova Scotia Youth Facility in
Waterville and 1/3 of which will be served in the community
under supervised conditions.
Your lawyer will be able to help you decide which sentence is the
best one to recommend to the Judge. Your lawyer will tell the
Court about you, your family, your plans, your education, your
willingness to attend programs or counselling and other
information that is important for the Judge to know before
deciding your sentence.
Disclaimer:
This site contains general legal information for residents of Nova
Scotia, Canada. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a
specific legal problem.
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