Pleading Guilty at Ontario Criminal Court
OTTAWA CRIMINAL DEFENCE LAWYER – Col. Russell Williams pleaded guilty to his criminal charges on October 18, in a turn of events that has made national headlines and stirred much public interest – especially here in Ottawa, Ontario.
The decision to plead guilty as Williams did – as opposed to pleading “not guilty” and arguing to have your charges dismissed – is not an easy one to make. In this case, the plea had to have been made only after extensive legal consultation and after all the options had been weighed.
If you’ve been charged with an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada you are probably overwhelmed, and you might be considering making a guilty plea just to get the case over with. Sometimes it seems “convenient.”
Do Not Plead Guilty Without Experienced Ontario Criminal Lawyer
I have worked on a great many criminal defence cases and my advice is this: do not plead guilty without first having your case reviewed by an experienced Ontario criminal lawyer! A skilled attorney can help you find alternatives:
- You could successfully have your case dropped before it gets to trial – for example, it could be dismissed due to lack of sufficient evidence at the preliminary hearing stage.
- There are numerous legal defences (violation of Charter rights, for example) that can be employed at trial to convince the judge that your case should be dismissed.
- Even if a guilty plea is your choice, at the very least you want to get the most lenient sentence possible.
If you are facing charges for a criminal offence in Ontario, don’t try to decide on your own whether or not to plead guilty. It’s crucial that you speak with an experienced criminal defence lawyer first, to learn more about your rights and legal options. For more information, contact the Ottawa lawyers at Auger Hollingsworth by email [email protected] or by phone at (613) 699-8192.
