Information on Criminal Law for LSLAP Students (1:XI): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:09, 3 November 2016

A. What we can do for our clients

1. If the client meets LSLAP requirements

LSLAP clinicians may provide assistance to clients including:

helping the accused obtain particulars and set trial dates,
representing an accused at trial for some summary offences with supervision, and/or speaking to sentence for such offences,
contacting and negotiating with the Crown, in some cases, to agree in advance to a disposition favourable to the client, and
applying for a diversion or peace bond for the client.

2. If the client does not meet LSLAP requirements

LSLAP clinicians may assist the client solely by providing the client with a referral. No advice should be given. If the client wishes to review a decision denying Legal Aid, LSLAP may be able to assist with this review (see number 4(c), below).

3. What to do if LSLAP cannot represent a client

Clients should be encouraged to find counsel as quickly as possible. If an accused must appear in court and has not yet found counsel, he or she should ask for an adjournment. It is common for the court to allow an adjournment for several weeks to permit the accused to obtain counsel after the first appearance.

4. Legal Aid

The Legal Services Society of B.C. (LSS) is the major source of criminal legal aid in British Columbia. Legal Aid’s purpose is to provide free representation for financially eligible clients (low-income), who are charged with certain offences. The Society will provide a retainer to a lawyer chosen by the eligible client in private practice who will provide legal assistance on a contract basis. The Society will also assist the eligible client in finding a lawyer if needed.

A wide range of booklets and pamphlets covering various legal problems and legal rights are also available from LSS offices. This material is free.

The client should be advised to contact Legal Aid directly at (604) 408-2172. See Chapter 22: Referrals, or the blue pages of the phone book, for more information.

a) Financial eligibility

The Legal Services Society will grant a letter of referral to applicants who meet the Society’s financial eligibility requirements. These can be found at Do I qualify for legal representation?. There is some flexibility in the requirements, subject to the discretion of the person assessing the application. Clients will be required to fill out a means test indicating income, expenses, education, and employment history.

b) Eligible offences and conditions

You may be able to get a legal aid lawyer to represent you in your criminal case if, after you were convicted (or plead guilty) you would:

be sentenced to a period of jail (including a conditional sentence),
lose your way of earning a living, or
face an immigration proceeding that could lead to your deportation from Canada.

You can also get a legal aid lawyer to represent you if you:

have a physical condition or disability or mental or emotional illness that makes it impossible for you to represent yourself, or
are Aboriginal and the case affects your ability to follow a traditional livelihood of hunting and fishing.

c) Reviewing a decision

A client who has been rejected can have their decision reviewed where circumstances warrant it. Requests for reviews must be in writing, must set out the reasons for disagreeing with the decision, and must include copies of supporting documentation. LSS does not consider any requests received after 30 days from the date of the intake legal assistant’s decision. LSLAP students may help by writing a letter to review the decision.

5. Vancouver Lawyer Referral Service

The client may call (604) 687-3221 or 1-800-663-1919 (for those outside the Lower Mainland) to reach the service, where an operator will provide the name of a lawyer who practices criminal law. The client should then call the lawyer to make an appointment. The fee is $25 plus tax for the first half-hour session, and the client will have to negotiate the fee for subsequent sessions at his or her first meeting with the lawyer. See Chapter 22: Referrals for more information.

6. Duty counsel

If the accused does not have a lawyer (either retained privately or through Legal Aid) duty counsel (lawyers paid by the government) are there to assist unrepresented people (whether in custody or out of custody) by providing them with basic legal information and advice and to assist them in conducting basic court appearances. Duty counsel is often the first lawyer to give legal advice to people in custody. As duty counsel are there to assist anyone on a given day, they cannot conduct trials or other lengthy matters. Duty counsel can help the accused by:

giving advice about the charges and court procedures,
conducting a bail hearing,
entering a guilty plea and providing background information about the accused for the purposes of sentencing, and
talking to the accused about possible ways of resolving the file such as through diversion.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{LSLAP Manual TOC|expanded = criminal}}
+== A. What we can do for our clients ==
+=== 1. If the client meets LSLAP requirements ===
+LSLAP clinicians may provide assistance to clients including:
+* helping the accused obtain particulars and set trial dates,
+* representing an accused at trial for some summary offences with supervision, and/or speaking to sentence for such offences,
+* contacting  and  negotiating  with  the  Crown,  in  some cases,  to  agree in  advance  to  a disposition favourable to the client, and
+* applying for a diversion or peace bond for the client.
+=== 2. If the client does not meet LSLAP requirements ===
+LSLAP  clinicians  may  assist  the  client  solely  by  providing  the  client  with  a  referral. No advice should be given. If the client wishes to review a decision denying Legal Aid, LSLAP may be able to assist with this review (see number 4(c), below).
+=== 3. What to do if LSLAP cannot represent a client ===
+Clients should be encouraged to find counsel as quickly as possible. If an accused must appear in court and has not yet found counsel, he or she should ask for an adjournment. It is common for  the  court  to  allow  an  adjournment  for  several  weeks  to  permit  the  accused  to  obtain counsel after the first appearance.
+=== 4. Legal Aid ===
+The Legal Services Society of B.C. (LSS) is the major source of criminal legal aid in British Columbia. Legal Aid’s purpose is to provide free representation for financially eligible clients (low-income), who are charged with certain offences. The Society will provide a retainer to a lawyer chosen by the eligible client in private practice who will provide legal assistance on a contract basis. The Society will also assist the eligible client in finding a lawyer if needed.
+A wide range of booklets and pamphlets covering various legal problems and legal rights are also available from LSS offices. This material is free.
+The client should be advised to contact Legal Aid directly at (604) 408-2172. See [[General_Legal_Help_Resources_(22:I)#Legal Services Society | Chapter 22: Referrals]], or the blue pages of the phone book, for more information.
+==== a) Financial eligibility ====
+The Legal Services Society will grant a letter of referral to applicants who meet the Society’s financial   eligibility requirements. These can be found at [http://www.lss.bc.ca/legal_aid/doIQualifyRepresentation.php Do I qualify for legal representation?].
+There is some flexibility in the requirements, subject to the discretion of the person assessing the application. Clients will be required to fill out a means test indicating income, expenses, education, and employment history.
+==== b) Eligible offences and conditions ====
+You may be able to get a legal aid lawyer to represent you in your criminal case if, after you were convicted (or plead guilty) you would:
+*be sentenced to a period of jail (including a conditional sentence),
+*lose your way of earning a living, or
+*face  an  immigration  proceeding  that  could  lead  to  your  deportation  from Canada.
+You can also get a legal aid lawyer to represent you if you:
+*have a physical condition or disability or mental or emotional illness that makes it impossible for you to represent yourself, or
+*are Aboriginal and the case affects your ability to follow a traditional livelihood of hunting and fishing.
+==== c) Reviewing a decision ====
+A client who has been rejected can have their decision reviewed where circumstances warrant it. Requests for reviews must be in writing, must set out the reasons for disagreeing  with  the  decision,  and  must  include  copies of  supporting documentation. LSS does not consider any requests received after 30 days from the date of the intake legal assistant’s decision. LSLAP students may help by writing a letter to review the decision.
+=== 5. Vancouver Lawyer Referral Service ===
+The client may call (604) 687-3221 or 1-800-663-1919 (for those outside the Lower Mainland) to  reach  the  service,  where  an  operator  will  provide  the  name  of  a  lawyer  who  practices criminal law. The client should then call the lawyer to make an appointment. The fee is $25 plus  tax  for  the  first  half-hour  session,  and  the  client  will  have  to  negotiate  the  fee  for subsequent sessions at his or her first meeting with the lawyer. See [[General_Legal_Help_Resources_(22:I)#The Lawyer Referral Service | Chapter 22: Referrals]] for more information.
+=== 6. Duty counsel ===
+If the accused does not have a lawyer (either retained privately or through Legal Aid) duty counsel (lawyers paid by the government) are there to assist unrepresented people (whether in custody or out of custody) by providing them with basic legal information and advice and to assist them in conducting basic court appearances. Duty counsel is often the first lawyer to give legal advice to people in custody. As duty counsel are there to assist anyone on a given day, they cannot conduct trials or other lengthy matters. Duty counsel can help the accused by:
+*giving advice about the charges and court procedures,
+*conducting a bail hearing,
+*entering a guilty plea and providing background information about the accused for the purposes of sentencing, and
+*talking  to  the  accused  about  possible  ways  of  resolving  the  file  such  as  through diversion.
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