Difference between revisions of "Defending Yourself Against a Criminal Charge"

Before the trial, at an “arraignment hearing”, the court may ask you how you plead – guilty or not guilty. This is called ''entering a plea''. If you don't do so, the court will enter a plea of “not guilty” for you. Pleading “not guilty” does not mean that you deny you committed the offence. It means that you are making the Crown prove the case against you, if they can. If you plead not guilty, the judge presumes you are innocent unless the Crown proves that you are guilty.