Criminal defence lawyer in Toronto: the courts, the bail centre, the police divisions and what is local

A criminal charge in Toronto runs through three buildings. First appearances, case management and most trials are at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street; adult bail hearings are at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre, 2201 Finch Avenue West; and Superior Court trials, bail reviews and appeals are at 361 University Avenue. Gambriani Law PC is a criminal defence firm in North York, at Suite 1901, 5000 Yonge Street, working in English and Farsi.

This page is about what is specific to Toronto: the buildings, the police divisions, the Crown teams and the courts you will not find anywhere else in Ontario. For guides by charge, start from our criminal defence practice areas.

How does a criminal case move through Toronto, step by step?

The Criminal Code is federal; what is local is who handles each step, and where.

1. The charge. An officer from one of the 16 Toronto Police divisions lays the charge. The division number on your papers decides which Crown team prosecutes it.
2. Release or bail. Police release you with a court date or hold you for a bail hearing, which must happen within 24 hours if a justice is available (Criminal Code s. 503). In Toronto that hearing is at the bail centre on Finch Avenue West, weekends and holidays included.
3. First appearance. Every case then goes to case management court at 10 Armoury Street. Out-of-custody accused people and lawyers may appear by Zoom or in person, unless a judicial officer directs otherwise. Read what happens at a first court appearance in Toronto.
4. Disclosure. If you have a lawyer by the first appearance, or within four weeks of it, the case is usually adjourned about 12 weeks, never more than three months, while the Crown screens the case and gives your lawyer the evidence.
5. Pre-trials. A Crown pre-trial may be held in person, by phone or by email; a judicial pre-trial is held by video unless a judicial officer directs otherwise. See what happens at a judicial pre-trial.
6. Resolution or trial. A case can end in a withdrawal, a peace bond, diversion or a plea. Otherwise the trial is in person at 10 Armoury Street, or at 361 University Avenue if the case goes to the Superior Court.

Which Toronto courthouse will your case be in?

Most adult criminal cases in the city now start and finish in one place. The province opened the courthouse at 10 Armoury Street in 2023 with 73 judicial hearing rooms and brought six Ontario Court of Justice criminal locations under its roof, including Old City Hall at 60 Queen Street West, College Park at 444 Yonge Street and youth criminal matters from 311 Jarvis Street. The old courthouse at 2201 Finch Avenue West stayed open as the bail centre. Cases that go to the Superior Court are heard downtown at 361 University Avenue.

The court offices at 10 Armoury Street are open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the counter serves the public from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Start with what to expect at the Toronto courthouse, 10 Armoury Street. If someone is held, read how the Toronto Regional Bail Centre works. For jury trials, see what happens at the Superior Court at 361 University Avenue.

Which police division laid the charge, and why does it matter?

The Toronto Police Service has its headquarters at 40 College Street and 16 divisions: 11, 12, 13, 14, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, 43, 51, 52, 53 and 55. Criminal cases in Toronto are organized around these numbers. The Toronto Crown Attorney's office at 10 Armoury Street works in four teams, and each team takes the cases from a fixed group of divisions. The adult case management courtrooms at 10 Armoury Street are also grouped by division.

The Crown Attorney's office main line is 416-212-2707. Knowing the team matters most when you do not have a lawyer yet, because the Crown's office is where you ask for disclosure, the evidence the police gathered. Once you have a lawyer, the lawyer deals with the Crown team for you.

Which police stations are in the north of the city?

Our office is on Yonge Street in North York. Three Toronto Police divisions have their stations in the north of the city, and each one is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

32 Division lists neighbourhoods such as Willowdale West, East Willowdale, Yonge-Doris, Newtonbrook East and West, Lansing-Westgate, Bathurst Manor and York University Heights. 33 Division lists Bayview Village, Bayview Woods-Steeles, Hillcrest Village, Don Valley Village, Henry Farm, Banbury-Don Mills and Parkwoods-O'Connor Hills.

A police station is not a courthouse. After a charge from 31, 32 or 33 Division, the first court date is at 10 Armoury Street, where these divisions have case management courtrooms, and anyone held for bail is brought to the bail centre on Finch Avenue West. The Ontario Provincial Police also has a Toronto Detachment, at 2682 Keele Street in North York.

What is only found in Toronto?

A court for criminal and family cases together. Since April 2, 2026, the Integrated Domestic Violence Court sits at 10 Armoury Street. It takes intimate partner violence charges prosecuted summarily, where the accused is not in custody and is also a party to a related parenting, support or restraining order case at the Ontario Court of Justice family courts at 47 Sheppard Avenue East or 311 Jarvis Street. One judge manages both cases. The court first opened at 311 Jarvis Street in 2011, and the Ontario Court of Justice describes it as the first and only court of its kind in Canada. Read who qualifies for this court.

One bail centre for the whole city. Adult bail hearings, including the weekend and statutory holiday bail court, are heard at 2201 Finch Avenue West. Legal Aid Ontario's duty counsel office is on the first floor and lists interpretation in languages other than English and French. If a relative was arrested on a Friday night, read when a weekend or holiday bail hearing happens in Toronto.

Separate courts for traffic tickets. Highway Traffic Act and other provincial offence tickets are not heard at 10 Armoury Street. The City of Toronto runs three provincial offences courthouses: Toronto South at 92 Front Street East, Toronto East at 1530 Markham Road and Toronto West at 2700 Eglinton Avenue West. An impaired driving charge under the Criminal Code is different: it goes to 10 Armoury Street like any other criminal case.

What do the numbers say about crime in Toronto?

Statistics Canada publishes police-reported figures for each police service. They are city-wide and say nothing about any one case.

What changes the answer in a Toronto case?

• Custody. A person held by police goes to the bail centre first. Some charges and records put the onus on the accused to show why release is justified (Criminal Code s. 515(6)); see how bail hearings work in Ontario.
• How the Crown proceeds. A summary or indictable prosecution sets the maximum sentence and the route. See what the Crown's choice changes.
• Your election. On most indictable charges the accused chooses a provincial court judge, a judge without a jury, or a judge and jury (s. 536(2) and (2.1)); the last two mean 361 University Avenue.
• Timing. The 12-week adjournment applies only if a lawyer is retained within four weeks of the first appearance.
• Immigration status. For a permanent resident, an offence that can be prosecuted either way counts as indictable, even if the Crown proceeds summarily (IRPA s. 36(3)(a)). Read how a charge can affect permanent resident status.

For example: a North York charge from start to first appearance

This is a hypothetical, not a real client or a result. Suppose a 29-year-old permanent resident who speaks mostly Farsi is charged by 32 Division officers after an incident at a store in the Yonge-Doris neighbourhood. It is his first charge. Police release him with an undertaking and a first appearance at 10 Armoury Street.

Because the charge came from 32 Division, the West Toronto Crown team prosecutes it. He retains a lawyer in the first week, so the case is adjourned about 12 weeks rather than in short steps. The lawyer goes through his conditions with him in Farsi, receives disclosure, asks for an interpreter for any date he must attend, and raises diversion with the Crown. An immigration lawyer is brought in before any plea is discussed. If he lived in Vaughan, nothing would change: the place of the charge sets the court and the Crown team.

What mistakes do people make after a Toronto charge?

1. Going to an old courthouse. Old City Hall, College Park, 1000 Finch Avenue West and the youth court at 311 Jarvis Street moved into 10 Armoury Street in 2023. Read the address on your papers.
2. Calling a lawyer too late. After the four-week window, the case moves in shorter steps.
3. Discussing the facts with the Crown alone. The Ontario Court of Justice warns accused people to be cautious about what they say to the Crown without a lawyer or duty counsel present.
4. Missing a case management date. The court may issue a warrant for your arrest. See what to do after a missed court date.
5. Relying on a relative to interpret. If you need an interpreter and your lawyer has not asked, tell the judge or your lawyer on the record at your first court date.

What can you do this week?

1. Find the division number, the courthouse address and the first appearance date on your papers.
2. Read every condition, including any no-contact condition or area you must avoid.
3. Speak with a lawyer, in Farsi or English, before the first appearance and before any police interview.
4. If you cannot reach a lawyer in time, call the Toronto Duty Counsel Office at 10 Armoury Street, 416-646-1286.
5. Tell your lawyer about your immigration status, travel plans and any family court case.
6. Track each step with our first-week checklist after a Toronto charge.

Where is the guide for each stage of a Toronto case?

Pick the stage your case has reached.

Right after the charge

• Must you be there: attending court yourself or through your lawyer.
• The first date at 10 Armoury Street: your first court appearance in Toronto.
• A date was missed: missed court dates and warrants.

Bail and release

• How a justice decides: our bail hearings page.
• Arrested on a Friday or Saturday: weekend and holiday bail in Toronto.
• Held at Finch Avenue West: the Toronto Regional Bail Centre.
• Asked to supervise someone: what a surety agrees to in Ontario.

Moving through the courts

• The evidence: how disclosure works in Ontario.
• Settlement talks with a judge: judicial pre-trials.
• A first charge: diversion in Toronto.
• The Crown's choice: summary or indictable.
• Your choice of trial: judge alone, or judge and jury.
• The main courthouse: 10 Armoury Street, room by room.
• Superior Court cases: 361 University Avenue.

Outcomes and records

• Comparing offers: withdrawals, peace bonds, discharges and convictions.
• After a withdrawal: what a police record check shows.
• An old conviction: record suspension waiting periods.

Driving and planning

• A reading between 0.05 and 0.08: warn-range penalties.
• Budgeting: what drives the cost of a defence in Toronto.

What if the charge was laid outside Toronto?

The place of the charge decides the courthouse. For Richmond Hill, Markham and Thornhill, read how York Region criminal cases work. For a charge laid in Vaughan, see criminal cases in Vaughan. Peel cases are heard in Brampton: read where Mississauga criminal cases go. Our page on criminal defence in Brampton covers the Peel divisions. The courtroom resources page lists the courts we appear in most often.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a Farsi interpreter at 10 Armoury Street or the bail centre?

Yes. Ontario provides court interpretation in any language required in criminal matters, and section 14 of the Charter gives an accused or witness who does not understand the proceedings the right to an interpreter. Sureties may need one too, so ask early through your lawyer.

I live in North York. Which court will hear my case?

The place of the charge decides the court, not your home. A charge from 31, 32 or 33 Division starts at 10 Armoury Street, and bail is at 2201 Finch Avenue West. The former criminal court at 1000 Finch Avenue West was one of the six locations moved into 10 Armoury Street in 2023.

Who do I contact for disclosure if I have no lawyer yet?

The Crown team for your police division, using the team email in the table above, or the Crown Attorney's office at 416-212-2707. Do not discuss the facts of the case with the Crown without advice.

Do you meet clients in Farsi?

Yes. Consultations and courtroom representation are available in English and Farsi, from our office at 5000 Yonge Street in North York. You can call, use the contact form or send a WhatsApp message.

Getting help

Gambriani Law PC represents people charged with criminal offences in English and Farsi. Sourena Sarbazevatan, our founder, is a Farsi-speaking criminal defence lawyer in Toronto and North York. Our guide for Persian-speaking people charged in the GTA explains how a case runs when you are more at ease in Farsi. Reaching a lawyer before the first court date leaves time to get disclosure and deal with any release condition that is hard to live with.

This page is general information about criminal courts in Toronto, not legal advice about your case.