Everyone has a right to a trial. At a trial, the Crown attorney will have to prove its case against you beyond a reasonable doubt in front of a judge. To do so, they will have to rely on admissible evidence the police have collected against you and put it to the judge in a manner that follows certain rules (or the “rules of evidence”). Not all evidence is admissible! There are many questions you may want to have answered before your trial begins:
- Will I testify at my trial, or will I exercise my right to silence?
- If I do testify, will I call any other evidence?
- What evidence will the judge accept?
- What evidence will the judge not accept?
- How will I present my closing argument to the judge?
- What does the Crown need to prove to obtain a conviction against me?
- Are there problems with the Crown’s case against me?
- Which witnesses will be testifying to prove the Crown’s case?
- Will an expert be testifying on either my or the Crown’s behalf?
- How will I cross-examine (question) the Crown witnesses?
- How will I direct examine my own witnesses?
- How do the rules of evidence affect my case?
- Is a preliminary inquiry available?
- Were any of my rights violated? If so, how does that affect the evidence?
- How will I present my side of the story to the judge?
There are many more questions that may arise throughout your trial. You may want to speak to a lawyer to answer some of these questions. If you would like to contact Scott Wilson to help you with your trial, please telephone him at (204) 415-5544 ext 5.