Attending Court – General Tips & What to Expect
By Ryan Conway, Summer Student
Attending Court: General Tips
A courtroom is staffed by a presiding Judge or Justice of the Peace, one or two court clerks and court reporters, and a Crown attorney. The courtroom will likely also have dozens of defence counsel, agents and law students. It is important to remember to be patient and respectful with everyone attending court. Courts are often very busy and often have hundreds of individuals to address each day. Even if your matter is listed for the morning, it is common that in some jurisdictions, matters on the morning list will not be heard until the afternoon.
When you sign or call into court, make sure that your camera is off, and your microphone is muted.
While it is important to arrive on time, many courthouses are very busy and even if you are late, it is unlikely that anyone will notice. Additionally, courts will generally address lawyers and agents for lawyers before they address self-represented individuals. As long as you appear before court ends for the day, you can just listen for your name and address the court when you are called.
When you are speaking in court, you should remember that everything is on the record, meaning that everything you say is being recorded. You do not want to inadvertently say something incriminating. Judges and Justices of the Peace will likely interrupt you and stop you from saying anything incriminating, but you should still be cautious about what you say.
Case Management court is not the place to argue your case or assert your innocence. The presiding Judge or Justice will not be the one who assess whether or not you are guilty, and arguing against the Crown’s allegation in Case Management court will only create unnecessary delay and annoys everyone else in the courtroom. It also raises the risk that you might say something to incriminate yourself.
When you attend court before a Judge, you should address the court as “Your Honour”. When you attend court before a Justice of the Peace, you should address the court as “Your Worship”. You can tell the difference between a Judge and a Justice of the Peace by the colour of the sash worn. A green sash indicates that a Justice of the Peace and a red sash indicates a Judge. However, if you are unsure of whether you are appearing before a Judge or Justice of the Peace, you should address the court as “Your Honour”.
If you miss a court date, you should contact the courthouse immediately for assistance. The courthouse will be able to tell you when your next court date is scheduled. When you appear for the next court date after missing a date, you should apologize for missing the last date and tell the court the honest reason for missing the appearance. You should also have an update ready for how you have moved your matter forward and what steps you plan to take to continue to progress your matter in a timely manner.
Attending Court: What to Expect
When you attend court, you should be prepared to tell the presiding Judge or Justice of the Peace what you have been doing or plan on doing to move your matter forward, e.g., whether you have contacted Legal Aid, retained a lawyer, requested disclosure, etc. The court will likely ask you how much time you need to complete the next step to move your matter forward and set a new date accordingly. If is a good idea to give yourself enough to time to actually complete the next step, e.g., retain a lawyer, so that you do not attend court without a new update. The court will get impatient if you attend court multiple times without an update.
Even though Case Management court is generally virtual, the court will expect that you treat your appearance as if it were in person. This means that you should dress and behave appropriately, especially if your camera is on, e.g., no smoking, no eating, wear proper attire, etc.
After you address the court and give an update on your matter, the court will give you a next court date. Make sure that you write that date down so you do not forget. If you forget your court date, you can contact the courthouse for assistance.