SOSC 2652 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Summary Offence, Judicial Independence, Canadian Judicial Council
13 Sep 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Chapter 7 - structure and operation of the criminal courts. Canada does not have a uniform court system. With the exception of nunavut, the canadian jurisdictions have four levels of courts that deal with criminal cases: provincial and territorial courts, provincial and territorial superior courts, provincial and territorial appellate courts, supreme court of canada. Nunavut has a single-level court - the nunavut court of justice. The lowest level of all courts - most criminal cases begin and end in them. Judges may preside over preliminary inquiries which are held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial or not. Specialized courts that are designed to divert offenders with special needs from the criminal justice system. Offenders may avoid incarceration by agreeing to abide by specified conditions. Three defining attributes of these courts are: 1) a focus on addressing the underlying problems of offenders, victims, and communities, 2) interagency and interdisciplinary collaboration, 3) accountability to the community.
