CRIM 2304 Canadian Criminal Justice System Overview

Editor's Notes

1. Textbook:“The criminal justice system is generally considered to contain all of the agen-cies, organizations, and personnel involved in the prevention of andresponse to crime and dealing with persons charged with criminal offences,and persons convicted of crimes. It includes crime prevention and crimereduction; the arrest and prosecution of suspects; the hearing of criminalcases by the courts; sentencing and the administration and enforcement ofcourt orders; parole and other forms of conditional release; and supervisionand assistance for ex-offenders released into the community. In recent years,“restorative justice” approaches have become part of the criminal justiceprocess as well.” (4)
2. Textbook:CJS powers are concentrated in the state; indeed, one of the reasons that the state is so powerful in most societies is that it controls the levers of the CJS.Today in Canada...Each level of government—federal, provincial, and municipal— plays a role in the justice system. The division of responsibilities between the federal and provincial governments was spelled out in the Constitution Act,1867. The basic division is that the federal government is responsible for writing and enacting criminal laws – basically deciding which behaviours constitute criminal offences and how they should be punished - while the provincial/territorial governments are responsible for administering the justice system, which includes policing, law enforcement, the prosecution of most criminal cases, and operating correctional institutions.” (9)While the provincial government has been given constitutional authority to administer the criminal justice system in Canada, the federal government also operates a national police force (the RCMP); prosecutes some federal offences, including narcotics offences; appoints some judges and manages some courts; correctional institutions for those offenders who receive sentences totalling two years or more; and operates a parole board for federal inmates and for provincial/territorial inmates in jurisdictions other than Quebec and Ontario (which have their own provincial parole boards).” (6)The municipal governments of cities and towns play a lesser role, primarily related to policing and bylaw enforcement.” (5) Municipal government – mainly involved in overseeing police service and local jails...(such as setting budgets) However....municipal governments are completely answerable to the provincial govenment, thus the latter is ultimately responsibility for municipal policing.If you look at the organizational chart...The primary mandate of the Department of Justice is to assist the federal government in making and reforming the criminal law and in developing criminal justice policy. This Department is also the government’s law firm; that is, it provides legal advice to the federal government as well as legal services (for example, through the FPS, discussed earlier). (19)
3. Legislative bodyPoliceCriminal CourtsCorrectionsParoleTextbook:Notwithstanding these institutions “... keep in mind that the criminal justice system is first and foremost a human enterprise. The decisions of police officers, judges, probation/parole officers, and parole boards are generally based not on scientific formulas but on professional judgment, experience, and intuition ...” (3)Discretion – CJS personnel carry out their tasks within the framework of written laws and policies; but they also exercise considerable discretion when making decisions. Indeed, discretion is a key part of the CJS system and process.Conservatives: limitations on a judges discretion.
4. Other statutesFederal Government (parliament) is responsible for writing & enacting criminal laws in Canada Criminal statutes: Criminal Code of CanadaControlled Drugs & Substances ActYouth Criminal Justice ActAnti-Terrorism ActOther criminal justice policies enacted by federal & provincial governments, as well as criminal justice agenciesProcedural laws:the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (2004, c. 10) (http://www. canlii.org/ca/as/2004/c10) established a national sex offender database containing information on convicted sex offenders. The basis of Canadian criminal laws & its entire legal system is what is known ascommon law“The common law system originated in Europe and was imported to Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries. It emerged from decisions made by judges in the royal courts and was based on the notion of precedent: “whenever a judge makes a decision that is said to be legally enforced, this decision becomes a precedent: a rule that willguide judges in making subsequent decisions in similar cases.” A unique feature of the common law is that is exists in past decisions of judges rather than being embodied in legal codes or legislation.” (14)
5. Textbook:“The courts are organized in a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court of Canada at the top. Lower CourtsA.k.a. provincial courtsDeal with most casesSuperior CourtsTrial Division: serious casesAppeals Division (appeals from lower courts)Appeal CourtsHears appeals from superior courtSupreme Court of CanadaFinal appellate courtThe principle whereby higher courts set precedents that lower courts must follow. Underlying this principle is the idea that like cases should be treated alike. ... the Supreme Court of Canada rules on a thorny legal issue, all courts below it are bound to apply that ruling in subsequent cases.”
6. LTSO – Long Term Supervision Order
7. Arraignment (charges read)Preliminary inquiryOptional for indictable offenses to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed Followed by indictmentBail hearingTrialMostly by judge onlyMay elect jury trial in serious casesProof: guilt beyond a reasonable doubtSentencing trialTextbook:
8. Textbook:“The criminal justice system responds to lawbreaking with investigation, prosecution, and (when appropriate) punishment. It does not, however, respond to every breach of the law. Only a fraction of the criminal acts com-mitted come to the attention of the police, and only a much smaller fraction of these are heard in the courts or lead to a sentence of incarceration. So dramatic is this attrition of cases in Canadian criminal justice that it is often represented graphically by a funnel...” (3)