Trial Preparation

You’re a defence lawyer who has been retained by a client awaiting a bail hearing, or an Assistant Crown Attorney about to embark on your first bail hearing... Where do you start and how do you maneuver through various stages of criminal procedure?

How to review disclosure, interview and prepare your client or witnesses to give evidence in Court.

Professionalism Content - Walter Fox (15 minutes):

• “Conducting effective client interviews and client meetings. Discussion about reasons and objectives of preparing a witness. Some of the reasons including presenting the best case possible, as well as making sure you are providing good and effective service. Preparing the Client also helps lawyers protect themselves from any ineffective assistance of counsel claims later on.
• The importance of getting to know your client as a person and having a good understanding of their back ground, and helping them to understand their emotions of fear, anger and sadness throughout the process including while giving evidence.
• Familiarizing the client with S. 13 of the Charter- A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence. Helping witnesses understand that what they say cannot be used against them.
• Recognizing and being sensitive to client’s circumstances and special needs and intellectual capacity:
• How to handle clients with special needs including intellectual deficiencies, mental health problems.
• How to introduce these issues prior or during the witness testimony in a way that will not jeopardize the witnesses’ testimony.
• Ethical and Professional Responsibility - Duty to avoid/manage conflict of interest:
• Spending time for preparation v. Fees
• Sometimes in Legal Aid cases lawyers may not have enough time to prepare based on the Legal Aid Tariff, how to balance the need and duty to properly prepare a witness and spend the time required with fees.