If you’ve been charged with a criminal offence—whether it’s DUI, sexual assault, domestic assault, criminal harassment, or any other offence—one of the first questions you may have is:“When should I give my full version of events to my lawyer?”

The timing of this is critical and can significantly affect the outcome of your case.

Why Timing Matters

When you are first charged, you will have a first court appearance roughly 3–6 weeks after the date of your arrest. Disclosure of the Crown’s case is often not provided to defence counsel until after  your first court appearance. Disclosure includes:

  • The complainant’s statement
  • Witness statements
  • Police notes and reports
  • Any other evidence gathered by the police 

This disclosure is essential because it outlines the evidence against you. Without it, your lawyer does not have a clear picture of the case, and you could unintentionally leave out important details or lock yourself into an incomplete version of events.  

The Best Time to Provide Your Statement

detailed statement.

Here’s why:

  • It refreshes your memory: Reviewing the police notes and statements helps you recall events more accurately. 
  • It reveals key details: You’ll better understand what evidence the Crown has and what issues need to be addressed. 
  • It strengthens your defence: Your lawyer can spot inconsistencies or weaknesses in the Crown’s case before you provide your version. Your lawyer will also be able to explain the defences which are available to you before you provide your side of the story.

In the early stages, it’s fine to discuss a rough or  general outline of what happened with your lawyer. However, your complete, detailed version should wait until after you’ve seen the evidence.

How We Handle This at Kruse Law

At our firm, we follow a specific process that ensures nothing is missed:

  1. Initial review meeting: We review the disclosure with you, explain potential defences, review the court process,  and give our preliminary legal opinion. 
  2. Client review after receiving disclosure You spend time—often several hours—carefully reviewing the disclosure yourself in our office or by zoom, making notes and marking key details. 
  3. Detailed statement: Once you’ve fully reviewed everything with your lawyer, you provide a thorough written or verbal statement that we use to build the strongest possible defence. 

This process maximizes your chances of success at trial and ensures your lawyer has every fact needed to fight for you.

Key Takeaway

Do not rush to give your full version of events before fully reviewing the disclosure with your lawyer. Waiting until you have all the evidence in front of you will lead to a more accurate, detailed, and effective statement—one that gives your lawyer the best chance of securing a favourable result.

Video Transcription:

I want to talk about a fact situation where you’ve been charged with a criminal offence, any type of criminal offence. A DUI, sexual assault, criminal harassment domestic assault, whatever that type of offence is, a property crime.When should you really sit down with your lawyer that you retained and give him your complete version of events, from start to finish in detail ? This is a very important question to answer. What happens when you are charged with a criminal offence is you’re going to have a first court appearance about three to six weeks in, and you’re not going to get the Crown police reports, it’s called, disclosure. That’s the victim’s statement, witness statements, police notes until that time period. Once your lawyer has that, your lawyer’s going to review that, and completely understand your case. You really should not provide your detailed statement to your lawyer until you’ve reviewed that disclosure with your lawyer, and understand all of the potential defences that you may have. Then you are in a position to give your statement. You see, the victim’s statement, the police notes, the duty notes, that’s going to refresh your memory about what’s true, and what’s not true. If you give your statement earlier, you may be missing points, it’s not really that good of a strategy to give your full statement to a lawyer before that. You might touch on some points in our early meetings, but really, I encourage clients, only give their complete statement after they’ve fully reviewed the disclosure. Refresh their memory, and they are in a position to do that.Now, I have a particular practice that our firm does and all of our lawyers do, that at that first meeting, when we are reviewing the disclosure, we generally take, you know, we discuss potential defences, give them our opinion, then receive their version. But even at that point, we don’t’ receive every single detail. I like the client to sit in the office for hours after that, reviewing their disclosure and then sit down and give a detailed statement, make notes, etc., on the disclosure for us. That’s really the route to go. That maximizes your chances of winning a criminal trial, maximizes your chances of giving all the details that your lawyer needs.
By Published On: August 2, 2023Last Updated: November 3, 2025Categories: General, Video

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