Best Practices where there is Family Violence (Criminal Law Perspective)

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Table of Contents

• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Introduction
• 3. Pre-Charge
  • 3.1 Advising a Potential Complaint
    • 3.1.1 Ensuring a Complaint's Safety and Building a Case
    • 3.1.2 Consequences of Making a Complaint to the Police
    • 3.1.3 Family Law Options
  • 3.2 Interviewing Child Complainants
    • 3.2.1 Obtaining Videotaped Statements
    • 3.2.2 Child-Centre Facilities
• 4. Arrest and Bail
  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 Bail Basics
    • 4.2.1 Summons and Appearance Notices
    • 4.2.2 Promise to Appear and Recognizance
    • 4.2.3 Held for Bail Hearing
  • 4.3 Crown Approach to Bail in Cases of Alleged Family Violence
    • 4.3.1 Collecting Information for Bail Hearings
  • 4.4 Common Bail Conditions
    • 4.4.1 "No contact directly or indirectly with the complainant except through a mutually agreeable third-party or pursuant to a Family Court order and only for purposes of arranging and facilitating child access"
    • 4.4.2 "Contact with children to be exercised under the supervision of the child protection agency or pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction"
    • 4.4.3 "Contact with children pursuant to a family court order that post-dates the date of this order" "Contact with children pursuant to a Family Court order"
  • 4.5 Defence Counsel / Duty Counsel Approach to Bail
    • 4.5.1 Ensuring Reasonable Bail Conditions
    • 4.5.2 Checklist for Defence Counsel and Duty Counsel
    • 4.5.3 Advising a Client after Release
  • 4.6 Bail Violations
    • 4.6.1 Advice to Accused
    • 4.6.2 Advice to Complainants
  • 4.7 Bail Variations
    • 4.7.1 The Cooperative Complainant
      • 4.7.1.1 Bail Variations in Anticipation of a Guilty Plea
      • 4.7.1.2 Peace Bonds and Withdrawals
    • 4.7.2 The Adversarial Complainant
    • 4.7.3 Bail variations versus Bail Reviews
• 5. Pre-Trial Decisions and Procedures
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Cooperating with Child Protection Authorities
    • 5.2.1 The Role of the Child Protection Agency
    • 5.2.2 Working with the Child Protection Agency
    • 5.2.3 Admissibility of Statements made to Child Protection Authorities
    • 5.2.4 Checklist for Interviews with the Children's Aid Society
  • 5.3 Use of Evidence from Family Law Proceedings in Criminal Proceedings
    • 5.3.1 The Deemed Undertaking Rule
    • 5.3.2 Protection from Self-Incrimination
  • 5.4 Use of Counselling and other Support Services in Criminal Proceedings
    • 5.4.1 Third Party Record Applications
      • 5.4.1.1 The O'Connor Regime
      • 5.4.1.2 The Mills Regime
      • 5.4.1.3 Resisting Defence Applications for Production
  • 5.5 Use of Child Protection Files in Criminal Proceedings
    • 5.5.1 Joint CAS and Police Investigations
    • 5.5.2 CAS Files as Third Party Records
    • 5.5.3 CAS Files in the Possession of an Accused
  • 5.6 Use of an Accused's Counselling Records
    • 5.6.1 Case Study – R. v. Pabani (1994)
    • 5.6.2 Participation in "PARS"
  • 5.7 Use of "Crown Brief" in Family and Child Protection Proceedings
    • 5.7.1 The General Rule – P.(D.) v. Wagg
    • 5.7.2 Information Sharing Between Police Services and Child Protection Agencies
      • 5.7.2.1 Joint Protocols
      • 5.7.2.2 Motion for Production
• 6. Trial Stage
  • 6.1 The Integrated Domestic Violence Court
  • 6.2 Evidentiary issues
    • 6.2.1 Reluctant and Recanting Witnesses
    • 6.2.2 Evidence of Prior Discreditable Conduct
    • 6.2.3 Expert Evidence
  • 6.3 Delay
    • 6.3.1 "Prejudice" Caused by Delay in the Criminal Context
    • 6.3.2 Delay and Child Protection Proceedings
• 7. Sentencing
  • 7.1 Impact of Conviction, Peace bond or Withdrawal on Parallel Proceedings
    • 7.1.1 Conviction
    • 7.1.2 Condition Attached to Peace bonds and Probation
      • 7.1.2.1 Peace bonds as Proof of Wrongdoing
      • 7.1.2.2 Creation of the "Status Quo"
      • 7.1.2.3 Communication Between Spouses
    • 7.1.3 Acquittal
  • 7.2 Variation of Orders
    • 7.2.1 Conditional Sentence Orders
    • 7.2.2 Probation Orders
• References Cited
• Case Law Cited
• Appendix A: Case Law Tool Kit for Defence Counsel and Duty Counsel

Date modified:

2015-09-17