How long does a typical indictable criminal charge take?

The duration of an average indictable criminal charge and the courtroom procedure in Ontario can vary based on several factors. Here is a breakdown of the timeline, considering both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice:

Ontario Court of Justice

• First Appearance: Approximately 5-6 weeks after being charged.
• Remand Court/Case Management Court/Intake Court: About 2-3 months, possibly up to 5 months or slightly longer, for more complex cases.
• Trial Date Setting: By the end of the remand process, the accused is expected to be in a position to set a trial date. 
• Judicial Pre-Trial: A  meeting in the judges’ chambers, usually behind closed doors with a judge, crown attorney and defence counsel present. The accused is not present. The trial date is usually set following completion of one or more judicial pre-trials. 
• Trial: If in the Ontario Court of Justice, the trial could take place 4 (rarely) – 12 months after the judicial pre-trial.
• Overall Timeline: The entire process, from the first appearance to trial conclusion, could range from (rarely) to 18 months, with longer durations possibly leading to a trial  ‘delay’ argument under s. 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Superior Court of Justice (with or without a  Preliminary Hearing in the Ontario Court of Justice)

• Indictable matters always start out in the Ontario Court of Justice Case Management Court/Remand Court/Intake Court.    
• Preliminary hearing: The accused can elect to be tried in the Ontario Court of Justice (with the same court timeline/court procedure outlined above), or they can elect to be tried in the Superior Court of Justice.  For charges which  have a maximum jail term of 14 years or more (such as aggravated assault or murder),  the accused may also elect to have a preliminary hearing to be held in the Ontario Court of Justice.     If they elect to have a preliminary hearing,   the timeline up to the completion of the preliminary hearing in the Ontario Court of Justice,   is the  same as for a trial in  Ontario Court of Justice as outlined above.  If there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial upon completion of the preliminary hearing,   the matter then moves into the Superior Court of Justice. 
• If the accused elects to have a trial in the Superior Court of Justice without a preliminary hearing, after the completion  of the Remand/Case Management/ Intake Court process in the Ontario Court of Justice, the matter moves over to the Superior Court of Justice  with the timelines outlined below. 
• Same Initial Process once the matter moves over to the Superior Court of Justice. The timeline for the court process in the Superior Court of Justice is similar, up to and including  the judicial pre-trial in the Ontario Court of Justice.
• Trial Date Setting: Similar to the Ontario Court of Justice, a trial date is set after one or more judicial pre-trials have been completed in the Superior Court of Justice.
• Trial: The trial could occur 4 (rarely) -12 months after the completion of the Superior Court  judicial pre-trial, with the overall timeline potentially extending to 18 months to 30 months for completion of the trial in the Superior Court of Justice, depending on how busy the trial schedule is in a given county.  Trial delays extending beyond 30 months from the start of the case in the Ontario Court of Justice to completion of the trial in the Superior Court of Justice,  could lead to a successful trial delay Charter application under s. 11(b) of the Charter. 

It’s important to note that these are general timelines, and variations may occur based on the complexity of the case, legal procedures, and specific Ontario county practices. Additionally, external factors such as the caseload of the court and the availability of trial dates can impact the overall duration. 

Clients are advised to consult with experienced criminal lawyers for case-specific timelines.

Clients often ask me: how long does the typical indictable criminal matter take in the court system – from the first appearance, right through to the jury trial (a judge or jury).

And I’ll answer that question in the context of the Ontario Court of Justice, and also if you elect for a higher court. And I also want to refer you to a much more detailed video I have on this topic about the typical court process for indictable matters, a more lengthy video. This one’s gonna focus more on the time limit.

So what’s gonna happen is that you’re going to be charged by police, and they’re going to give you a court date – maybe five, six weeks down the road in the Ontario Court of Juctice. You’re going to be then in the remand system, in front of a Justice of the Peace. And what happens there is that you’re gonna be in that remand court – depending on the case, let’s take a sexual assault case for example, maybe two or three monnths. Five months at the outside.

At the end of that process, you’re going to be expected to be in a position to set a trial date. The courts going to demand that of you, and depending on the county, they’ll put pressure on you before three months. You’ll then set a judicial pre-trial, that’s a management function for a court-time meeting with the judge, and the crown, behind closed doors. The accused is not present for it. You’re got a trial date; if it’s in the Ontario Court of Justice, that’s what you’ve elected, it’s gonna be four to twelve months after that. So your case could be wrapped up – if it’s an indictable offence where you elect the Ontario Court of Justice – in as little as seven months. In most counties that’s a miracle, and maybe up to fifteen or so. If it moves beyond eighteen you’re maybe into a ‘delay’ argument.

So let’s take another example where you’ve elected either judge-alone, or judge-and-jury, in the Superior Court of Justice, with a preliminary hearing. Going through the same process – you’re gonna have the same timeline – except at the end of the judicial pretrial in the Ontario Court of Justice, you’re gonna set a hearing date, which again is going to be down the road four or six or ten or twelve months (max). After your commital for trial, once you’ve had the preliminary hearing, you’re going to be likely committed to trial. Usually, it’s such a low test. And then you move through the Superior Court of Justice, you go through the same remand process, but probably shorter. Maybe one or two remand appearances. A month or two in, we’re ready to set a judicial pretrial date. Once we have that date, then we set either the jury trial or the judge-alone trial. Maybe some counties you’ll get the trial in four months, but let’s say four to twelve months. So when you add up all those periods of time for an indictable matter, where you elect a judge-alone or a judge-and-jury, it could be as much as thirty months of time. Most likely less. I’m gonna say eighteen months or two and a half years depending on the county. And one of the counties that really burn is Brampton.

So there you have it – that’s the timeline. It varies throughout the province. And I want to thank you for joining me for the video tip of the day.