At trial you want the Judge to say they have found you NOT GUILTY.

​

No young person can be found guilty of an offence unless the Court is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt after hearing all the evidence at trial. The best sources of information about reasonable doubt are in the case law. Read R. v. Lifchus, R. v. Starr, and R. v. W. (D.) to learn about reasonable doubt.

 

If a young person is acquitted their bail conditions come to an end and they are free to leave unless there is some other Court proceeding pending.

 

In many ways, however, the young person will have a criminal "record" for the rest of his or her life. That's not the way that the written law reads but unfortunately it is reality in Canada. Ask your lawyer for details.

 

A record of a finding of guilt for life is a lot worse than a record for life of an acquittal. Hire your lawyer about 6 months after the end of access period shown below to write to the police asking that records be destroyed. There is no guarantee of success but you should try anyway.

 

 

Officially the YCJA reads as follows, but please assume that you have a "record", a history of proceedings, a history of allegations, at least some police or US immigration documentation, (even if the police have written to your lawyer to say that records have been destroyed), for life:

 

119. (1) Subject to subsections (4) to (6), from the date that a record is created until the end of the applicable period set out in subsection (2), the following persons, on request, shall be given access to a record kept under section 114, and may be given access to a record kept under sections 115 and 116:

• (a) the young person to whom the record relates;

• (b) the young person’s counsel, or any representative of that counsel;

• (c) the Attorney General;

• (d) the victim of the offence or alleged offence to which the record relates;

• (e) the parents of the young person, during the course of any proceedings relating to the offence or alleged offence to which the record relates or during the term of any youth sentence made in respect of the offence;

• (f) any adult assisting the young person under subsection 25(7), during the course of any proceedings relating to the offence or alleged offence to which the record relates or during the term of any youth sentence made in respect of the offence;

• (g) any peace officer for

  • (i) law enforcement purposes, or

  • (ii) any purpose related to the administration of the case to which the record relates, during the course of proceedings against the young person or the term of the youth sentence;

• (h) a judge, court or review board, for any purpose relating to proceedings against the young person, or proceedings against the person after he or she becomes an adult, in respect of offences committed or alleged to have been committed by that person;

• (i) the provincial director, or the director of the provincial correctional facility for adults or the penitentiary at which the young person is serving a sentence;

• (j) a person participating in a conference or in the administration of extrajudicial measures, if required for the administration of the case to which the record relates;

• (k) a person acting as ombudsman, privacy commissioner or information commissioner, whatever his or her official designation might be, who in the course of his or her duties under an Act of Parliament or the legislature of a province is investigating a complaint to which the record relates;

• (l) a coroner or a person acting as a child advocate, whatever his or her official designation might be, who is acting in the course of his or her duties under an Act of Parliament or the legislature of a province;

• (m) a person acting under the Firearms Act;

• (n) a member of a department or agency of a government in Canada, or of an organization that is an agent of, or under contract with, the department or agency, who is

  • (i) acting in the exercise of his or her duties under this Act,

  • (ii) engaged in the supervision or care of the young person, whether as a young person or an adult, or in an investigation related to the young person under an Act of the legislature of a province respecting child welfare,

  • (iii) considering an application for conditional release, or for a record suspension under the Criminal Records Act, made by the young person, whether as a young person or an adult,

  • (iv) administering a prohibition order made under an Act of Parliament or the legislature of a province, or

  • (v) administering a youth sentence, if the young person has been committed to custody and is serving the custody in a provincial correctional facility for adults or a penitentiary;

• (o) a person, for the purpose of carrying out a criminal record check required by the Government of Canada or the government of a province or a municipality for purposes of employment or the performance of services, with or without remuneration;

• (p) an employee or agent of the Government of Canada, for statistical purposes under the Statistics Act;

• (q) an accused or his or her counsel who swears an affidavit to the effect that access to the record is necessary to make a full answer and defence;

• (r) a person or a member of a class of persons designated by order of the Governor in Council, or the lieutenant governor in council of the appropriate province, for a purpose and to the extent specified in the order; and

• (s) any person or member of a class of persons that a youth justice court judge considers has a valid interest in the record, to the extent directed by the judge, if the judge is satisfied that access to the record is

  • (i) desirable in the public interest for research or statistical purposes, or

  • (ii) desirable in the interest of the proper administration of justice.

 

Period of access

(2) The period of access referred to in subsection (1) is

• (a) if an extrajudicial sanction is used to deal with the young person, the period ending two years after the young person consents to be subject to the sanction in accordance with paragraph 10(2)(c);

• (b) if the young person is acquitted of the offence otherwise than by reason of a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder, the period ending two months after the expiry of the time allowed for the taking of an appeal or, if an appeal is taken, the period ending three months after all proceedings in respect of the appeal have been completed;

• (c) if the charge against the young person is dismissed for any reason other than acquittal, the charge is withdrawn, or the young person is found guilty of the offence and a reprimand is given, the period ending two months after the dismissal, withdrawal, or finding of guilt;

• (d) if the charge against the young person is stayed, with no proceedings being taken against the young person for a period of one year, at the end of that period;