2. Think about hiring a lawyer

You should think about hiring a lawyer if you haven’t already. A lawyer can review your disclosure and help you decide whether to set a trial date.

Unless you’re sure that you want to set a trial date, have your lawyer review all your disclosure before you make any decisions.

Your lawyer can identify:

• anything that violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• defences that you might have

At the Crown pre-trial, you can talk about ways your case could be resolved and whether you can have diversion. Even if you weren’t screened for diversion earlier, a lawyer can help convince the Crown you should have it.

You can hire a paralegal to represent you if you have been charged with a summary offence that has a maximum sentence of:

• 2 years in jail,
• a $5,000 fine, or
• both