Charter Rights Defence Lawyer in Toronto

Not only are you protected from search and seizure by the police, you are also protected when you are merely detained for investigation. Section 9 reads as follows:

9. Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.

This section guarantees that if the police stop to question you, they cannot do so randomly, or on a mere hunch. Your car cannot be pulled over unless it is for the purpose of enforcing the Highway Traffic Act or drinking and driving laws. Working together, sections 8 and 9 require that the police do their homework before engaging in conduct that limits the freedom of its citizens to go about their business undisturbed.

Sections 8 and 9 limit the ability of the police to interfere with your liberty; but when they do, section 10 requires them to afford you certain procedural protections:

As the section states, you are entitled to know why you have been arrested or detained, and you have the right to speak to a criminal defence lawyer. The police are required to inform you of these rights, because having a right is useless unless you know about it.

This section is one of the most heavily litigated areas in drinking and driving cases, and where the Crown is relying on confessions or incriminating statements.

Section 11 sets out a number of fundamental rights and procedural protections that apply specifically to defendants in criminal cases:

Most of these provisions speak for themselves, but some bear special mention.

Nothing is more fundamental to our system of justice and the democratic values of a civilized society than the presumption of innocence. In practical terms, this right means that it is the Crown that must prove the case against you; you are not required to prove your innocence.

The right to a trial within a reasonable time recognizes that having criminal charges and bail conditions hanging over your head is an emotionally and often financially stressful experience.

Sometimes your career, access to your children, or your ability to travel or communicate is compromised for months or even years. Courts and prosecutors are overburdened and under-resourced, leading to lengthy delays before you are able to exercise your right to a trial. In such cases, the law has set certain thresholds beyond which the government risks losing their opportunity to pursue a criminal prosecution against you. This has been a particularly volatile battleground in recent years, as governments try to balance ever more complex cases and busier urban courts, with the desire to balance budgets. The court is the final arbiter of a citizen’s rights in these situations, and it is a role that they guard carefully.

Section 12 constitutes a simple but crucial limitation on a government’s power:

12. Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

It is section 12 that makes capital punishment and torture illegal, and protects us against draconian measures such as the American “three strikes” laws. Once a citizen has received the benefit of all of the law’s protections during the criminal process, yet is found guilty, section 12 ensures that the offender will be subjected only to the appropriate and humane consequences of his or her actions at the sentencing.

This section operates in combination with section 7 to protect a defendant from being forced to give evidence against himself or herself:

13. A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence.

This section recognizes the Canadian reality that many of us have come to this country from another part of the world. The Charter applies to all Canadians, and ensures that we all benefit from the same high standards of justice;

14. A party or witness in any proceedings who does not understand or speak the language in which the proceedings are conducted or who is deaf has the right to the assistance of an interpreter.