Conspiracy Lawyers in Canada

The Crown is the prosecutor. A person charged with an offence is presumed innocent until proven guilty, so the Crown is the side that has to prove the charge. That presumption is part of section 11 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Section 465(1) is built around the words every one who conspires with any one to commit an offence. The paragraph that applies depends on what the offence is. Paragraph (a) covers a conspiracy to commit murder or to cause another person to be murdered, whether in Canada or not. Paragraph (b) covers a conspiracy to prosecute a person for an alleged offence, knowing that the person did not commit that offence. Paragraph (c) covers a conspiracy to commit an indictable offence that is not covered by paragraph (a) or (b). Paragraph (d) covers a conspiracy to commit an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Section 465 does not define the word conspires. What the Crown must show to prove it, and what evidence can be used, are questions of law for the court. A lawyer can explain how they apply to the charge in front of a person.

Because the charge is tied to another offence, the offence that the people are said to have conspired to commit is part of the case. The Crown has to prove the conspiracy as charged. The wording of the charge tells a person which paragraph of section 465(1) the Crown relies on.

Section 465(1) sets the penalty by paragraph. Under paragraph (a), a conspiracy to commit murder is an indictable offence with a maximum term of imprisonment for life. Under paragraph (b), a conspiracy to prosecute a person for an alleged offence, knowing that the person did not commit it, is an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction. The maximum on indictment is 10 years if the alleged offence is one that carries life or up to 14 years. It is five years if the alleged offence carries less than 14 years.

Under paragraph (c), a person who conspires to commit an indictable offence not covered by paragraphs (a) and (b) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to the same punishment as an accused who is guilty of that offence would be. For example, section 380(1) sets a maximum of 14 years on indictment for fraud over $5,000. Paragraph (c) ties a conspiracy to commit an indictable offence to the punishment for that offence.

Under paragraph (d), a conspiracy to commit an offence punishable on summary conviction is an offence punishable on summary conviction. Unless another penalty is set by law, a summary conviction offence carries a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment of up to two years less a day, or both, under section 787(1).

A maximum is the ceiling the law allows. It does not say what sentence a court would give in any case.

Section 465 has rules for plans that cross the border. Under subsection (3), a person who, while in Canada, conspires with anyone to do something referred to in subsection (1) in a place outside Canada, where it is an offence under the laws of that place, is deemed to have conspired to do that thing in Canada. Under subsection (4), a person who, while in a place outside Canada, conspires with anyone to do something referred to in subsection (1) in Canada is deemed to have conspired in Canada to do that thing.

Subsection (5) deals with where the case is heard. For those two kinds of conspiracy, proceedings may be commenced in any territorial division in Canada, whether or not the person is in Canada. The accused may be tried and punished in the same manner as if the offence had been committed in that territorial division.

Section 465 does not list defences. Whether the Crown has proved the charge is the first question in any case, and a lawyer can explain how that applies to the facts.

Charter rights apply from the start. Section 10 gives everyone on arrest or detention the right to be informed promptly of the reasons and the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right. Section 11 gives a person charged with an offence the right to be tried within a reasonable time and the right not to be compelled to be a witness in proceedings against that person in respect of the offence. Under section 24(2), evidence obtained in a manner that infringed Charter rights is excluded if admitting it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

In Ontario, every charge under the Criminal Code starts in the Ontario Court of Justice, and about 95% of charges are completed there. The Superior Court of Justice can try any indictable offence but generally tries only the most serious ones. The court's own description names murder, manslaughter, serious violent offences, firearm offences, robberies, home invasions, criminal organization offences and drug trafficking. Trials in that court are by a judge alone or with a jury.

A person who is arrested may be taken before a justice for a release decision. Under section 515, the justice shall make a release order without conditions unless the prosecutor shows cause why detention in custody is justified or why another order under that section should be made. Section 493.1 says the person making the decision gives primary consideration to release at the earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous conditions that are appropriate in the circumstances.

After a conviction on indictment, an appeal goes to the court of appeal. Under section 675, the person may appeal as of right on a ground that involves a question of law alone. An appeal on a question of fact or of mixed law and fact needs leave, and so does an appeal against sentence.

Legal Aid Ontario may pay for a lawyer if the person qualifies and is charged with a crime that could mean jail on conviction, or is 12 to 17 and charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Duty counsel is a lawyer at the courthouse for that day. Duty counsel can advise on rights, act at a bail hearing, help with a guilty plea and speak at sentencing, for people who qualify and have no lawyer. A legal aid certificate pays a roster lawyer, one approved to take legal aid clients, for the length of the criminal case. Applications are online or by phone at 1-800-668-8258.

The Law Society of Ontario keeps a public Lawyer and Paralegal Directory, where a lawyer's licence can be looked up. The Ontario lawyers on this site are listed by city. Nothing on this page ranks or recommends any of them.