What to expect at the Superior Court criminal courthouse, 361 University Avenue, Toronto

361 University Avenue is the Superior Court of Justice courthouse for criminal and family cases in Toronto. A criminal case ends up there if you elect a trial before a Superior Court judge or a judge and jury, if the charge is murder or another offence only a superior court can try, or for a bail review, a 90-day detention review or a summary conviction appeal. Most scheduling steps there are remote; trials, pleas and sentencings are in person.

Most Toronto criminal cases never leave the Ontario Court of Justice at 10 Armoury Street. This page is for the ones that do. For an overview of how a criminal defence case moves through the courts, start with our practice areas.

Which criminal cases go to 361 University Avenue?

The election is the usual route. Our guide to choosing a judge or a jury in an Ontario criminal case explains the three choices and when a preliminary inquiry is available. An election only arises when the Crown proceeds by indictment on a charge that allows one; our page on summary and indictable proceedings explains that first choice. For a section 469 offence such as murder, a trial without a jury needs the consent of both the accused and the Attorney General (s. 473).

How does a case move through the Superior Court, step by step?

Once a case is sent up from the Ontario Court of Justice (committal), Toronto's consolidated practice direction sets a routine. The table follows a typical case with a lawyer.

The judicial pre-trial is a meeting with a judge to discuss the case and plan the trial. Our page on what happens at a judicial pre-trial explains how it works. Where the accused has no lawyer, the Toronto direction says the pre-trial is set at the first Superior Court appearance and held on the record by audio or video.

Administrative dates after the first one are also remote, on the same weekday. If an appearance must be in person, the case is adjourned to 2:00 p.m. in a courtroom opened for trial matters. A designation of counsel lets your lawyer appear for you, and it can be unlimited or limited to certain purposes; see whether your lawyer can appear for you.

Where in the building is the criminal side?

The courthouse is at 361 University Avenue, Toronto, M5G 1T3. The Criminal Trial Office is on the 4th floor. It schedules trials, judicial pre-trials, 90-day detention review hearings, criminal applications and motions, and assignment court, all through one email address: [email protected]. Lawyers file criminal documents by email with the Toronto criminal intake office, and the court uses the Case Center platform for most criminal events, though not where the accused is self-represented.

The Superior Court has other buildings in Toronto, at 330 and 393 University Avenue for civil cases and at 130 Queen for the Divisional Court. Criminal cases are at 361.

What happens at your first Superior Court appearance?

Toronto's practice direction schedules the first appearance in Practice Court for the fourth week after committal. The day depends on which Crown office is prosecuting:

These administrative appearances are presumptively remote. You attend by audio, by video, or through your lawyer under a designation of counsel. People held at the Toronto South Detention Centre who are not appearing through counsel attend at 9:00 a.m., and those at the Toronto East Detention Centre at 11:00 a.m. If you want to change your election, you can re-elect at a Practice Court appearance, within the limits of section 561.

How does a bail review work here?

If a justice at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre detained you, or released you on terms you cannot live with, you can ask a Superior Court judge to review the order at any time before trial (s. 520). In Toronto, these reviews are booked through the Criminal Trial Office. The Toronto practice direction sets the timetable:

The Toronto practice direction asks counsel to circulate a proposed conditions-of-release form before the hearing and to have a copy of each proposed surety's photo identification. If release is granted remotely, the registrar prepares the paperwork, and the court accepts counsel's written confirmation that they witnessed the sureties' signatures by phone or video. If a family member is being asked to step in, read what a surety agrees to in Ontario. The first bail hearing itself is explained on our bail hearings page.

A bail review is also the route when the Crown will not consent to changing a condition in a court release order. Our page on changing a no-contact bail condition explains when a consent variation is enough. For a 90-day review, the trial coordinator checks whether a bail hearing was held and, if so, a transcript is ordered; the hearing date is given 15 days after the transcript order.

Which steps are in person and which are remote?

Toronto's practice direction sets a presumptive mode for each step. A judge can direct otherwise, and a request to change the mode must be raised early, at the first appearance or when the event is scheduled.

Recording any part of a hearing, including a screenshot of a video hearing, is an offence under section 136 of the Courts of Justice Act unless the court gives permission.

How do you get a Farsi interpreter at 361 University Avenue?

The court works in English or French. Section 14 of the Charter gives an accused or witness who does not understand the language the right to an interpreter, and Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General provides interpretation in any language required in criminal matters. The request can be made on the record in court. If you need an interpreter for a remote appearance that was not requested in court, your lawyer contacts the Toronto Court Interpreter Scheduling Unit at 416-327-5666 or [email protected], giving the language, the date and the time.

For a jury trial or a long hearing, it is worth raising the interpreter at the judicial pre-trial so it is planned with the trial time. Our guide for Persian-speaking people charged in the GTA explains how we work with clients in Farsi.

What about appeals?

Summary conviction appeals from Toronto are heard at the Superior Court. Hearings with lawyers proceed by Zoom, and the appellant's factum is due 60 days before the hearing, the respondent's 20 days before. An appellant with a lawyer does not have to attend in person; the client can watch the Zoom hearing with the camera off and microphone muted. Bail pending appeal follows the same procedure as a bail review, with some changes. Appeals from indictable convictions go to the Court of Appeal for Ontario instead. Our page on appealing a criminal conviction in Ontario sets out the 30-day deadline and where each appeal goes.

What changes the answer?

• Your election. Electing a judge alone or a jury, or not electing at all, sends the trial here (s. 536(2) and (2.1)). Re-electing back to the Ontario Court of Justice is possible only within the limits of s. 561.
• The charge. Section 469 offences must be tried in the Superior Court, and only a Superior Court judge can grant bail on them (s. 522).
• Who prosecutes. The Crown office sets your Practice Court day, and federal judicial pre-trials are scheduled on Wednesdays.
• Custody. Detention brings the 90-day review (s. 525) and set appearance times for people held at the Toronto South and Toronto East detention centres.
• Having a lawyer. Without one, the pre-trial is set at your first appearance, Case Center is not used, and summary conviction appeals are heard in person.
• Time to trial. Section 11(b) of the Charter guarantees a trial within a reasonable time. In R. v. Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, the Supreme Court set a presumptive ceiling of 30 months for cases in the superior court, compared with 18 months in the provincial court.

For example: a judge-alone trial at 361 University Avenue

This is a hypothetical, not a real client or a result. Suppose a small-business owner in North York, more at ease in Farsi than English, is charged with fraud over $5,000, an indictable offence. After advice from his lawyer he elects a trial by a Superior Court judge without a jury.

Within two business days of committal, the North York Crown books a judicial pre-trial with his lawyer, and the Form 17 exchange follows. His first Practice Court date falls on a Friday at 9:00 a.m., four weeks after committal, and his lawyer appears for him under a designation. At the pre-trial the lawyer raises the need for a Farsi interpreter for the trial days and agrees a time estimate. The trial date is then set with the trial coordinators, and he attends the trial in person with an interpreter.

What mistakes do people make with the Superior Court?

1. Electing without advice. The choice of court shapes the whole case, and changing it later has limits (s. 561).
2. Missing the bail review filing deadline. In Toronto, materials are due by 10:00 a.m. Wednesday for Monday, or Thursday for later in the week.
3. Raising the mode of hearing too late. A request to attend differently must be made at the first opportunity, or the presumptive mode applies.
4. Recording a hearing. A screenshot of a video hearing can be an offence under the Courts of Justice Act.
5. Missing a date. Superior Court dates are as binding as any other; see what happens after a missed court date.

What can you do this week?

1. Find out from your lawyer whether your case has been committed, and which Crown office is prosecuting.
2. Note your Practice Court day and whether your lawyer will appear for you under a designation.
3. If you or a witness needs a Farsi interpreter, tell your lawyer so it can be raised at the pre-trial.
4. If someone is detained, decide with the lawyer whether a bail review is worth bringing, and line up sureties.
5. Review the disclosure with your lawyer; our page on disclosure in an Ontario criminal case explains what to expect.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to attend Practice Court myself?

Not if your lawyer appears for you under a designation of counsel. Otherwise you attend by audio or video, since these appearances are presumptively remote.

Is a jury trial always at 361 University Avenue?

For a Toronto case, yes: a jury trial is a Superior Court trial, and 361 University Avenue is the Superior Court's criminal courthouse in Toronto.

How long can a Superior Court case take?

Under R. v. Jordan, delay beyond 30 months from the charge to the end of a superior court trial is presumed unreasonable, unless exceptional circumstances justify it; delay caused by the defence is not counted.

Can a sentencing be done by video?

Sentencing is presumptively in person in Toronto. A remote plea or sentencing can be arranged, and a judge's order is needed for an in-person plea that is scheduled through the trial office.

I am a permanent resident. Does the sentence length matter?

It can. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a permanent resident found inadmissible for serious criminality has no appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division if the crime was punished by at least six months of imprisonment (s. 64). Read what a criminal charge means for a permanent resident.

Where is the sentencing report prepared?

If the judge orders one, a probation officer prepares the pre-sentence report (Criminal Code s. 721). Our page on pre-sentence reports and victim impact statements explains what it covers.

Getting help

Gambriani Law PC appears in both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice, in English and Farsi. Our page on criminal defence in Toronto covers the other courts in the city. If your case started at the courthouse at 10 Armoury Street, the same lawyer can usually follow it up to 361 University Avenue.

This page is general information about the Superior Court in Toronto, not legal advice about your case. Practice directions change: check the court's current direction.