Brampton Criminal Lawyer

Criminal Defence in Brampton and Peel Region

Robb MacDonald defends people charged in Brampton, Mississauga, Caledon and the rest of Peel Region. He has practised criminal law for more than twenty years, earned his J.D. at Queen's University in 2006, was called to the Ontario bar in 2007, and trained under Edward Greenspan QC. He is a two-time provincial advocacy champion, winner of the Arnup Cup and the OTLA Cup, and a criminal jury trial specialist who is in court roughly five days a week.

Peel is one of the busiest criminal jurisdictions in the province. Dates are hard to get, disclosure can take time, and an unrepresented person can lose months without ever advancing their case. Counsel who knows how the local court actually runs is often the difference between a matter that moves and a matter that drifts.

Where Your Case Is Heard: The Davis Courthouse

Almost every criminal charge laid in Brampton is heard at the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse, 7755 Hurontario Street, Brampton. Both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice sit in that building, so bail hearings, summary matters, preliminary inquiries, judge-alone trials and jury trials all take place under one roof.

Which court hears your trial depends on how the offence is classified and, for most indictable offences, on the election you make. Summary conviction matters stay in the Ontario Court of Justice. For indictable matters you may generally elect trial by a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice, by a Superior Court judge sitting alone, or by judge and jury. Since 2019, a preliminary inquiry is available only where the offence carries a maximum of fourteen years or life. That election is a strategic decision, not a formality.

How a Brampton Criminal Case Actually Moves

Most people are surprised by how much of a criminal case happens outside a trial courtroom. A typical Brampton matter follows this path:

First appearance. This is an administrative date, not a trial. Nothing is decided about guilt. Its purpose is to confirm you have received disclosure and to give you time to retain counsel. In many cases your lawyer can attend for you on a designation of counsel, so you do not have to take a day off work for every routine date.

Disclosure. The Crown must give the defence the fruits of the investigation: officer notes, witness statements, video, 911 recordings, search warrant materials, and certificates of analysis in drug cases. It often arrives in stages, and a real defence cannot be built until it is complete. Chasing incomplete disclosure is one of the most common reasons cases stall.

Crown pre-trial. Defence counsel speaks with the assigned Crown about the strength of the case and any resolution position. This is where many charges are narrowed, withdrawn, or resolved on terms better than what was first offered, and where an experienced lawyer's credibility carries weight.

Judicial pre-trial. If the matter is not resolved, counsel and the Crown appear before a judge, without the accused present, to canvass the issues, hear the judge's frank view of the case, and estimate trial time. A judicial pre-trial can move a case decisively.

Set date court. Once the issues are defined, the matter is scheduled for trial or preliminary inquiry. Delay matters here: the Supreme Court of Canada set presumptive ceilings of eighteen months in the provincial court and thirty months in the Superior Court, and decisions applying that framework are searchable on CanLII.

Drug Charges in Brampton

Drug offences are prosecuted under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act rather than the Criminal Code. The three charges seen most often in Brampton are simple possession, trafficking, and possession for the purpose of trafficking. The difference between them is enormous. Simple possession is frequently resolvable. Possession for the purpose of trafficking is a serious indictable allegation that can carry a real jail sentence.

On a possession charge the Crown must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the substance was a controlled substance and that you had knowledge and control of it. Mere proximity is not possession. On possession for the purpose, the Crown must prove that intent, usually through circumstantial indicators such as packaging, quantity, scales, cash and phone traffic, often supported by an expert opinion that a defence lawyer can and should test.

Many Brampton drug cases turn on how the evidence was obtained rather than what it was. The Criminal Code governs the police powers used in these investigations, and the Charter limits them. Section 8 protects you from unreasonable search and seizure, so a defective warrant, a warrantless vehicle or residence search, or a search that exceeded its lawful purpose can be challenged. Section 9 protects you from arbitrary detention, which matters in traffic stops that turn into drug investigations. Section 10(b) guarantees the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be told of that right, and a breach can taint everything that followed. Where a breach is proven, the defence can apply under section 24(2) to exclude the evidence, and in a drug case excluded evidence often ends the prosecution. Read more about how Robb defends drug charges.

Assault Charges in Brampton

Assault is defined in section 265 of the Criminal Code as the intentional application of force to another person without their consent, and it includes threatening gestures. Simple assault is punished under section 266. Where a weapon is used or threatened, or bodily harm results, section 267 applies. Section 268, aggravated assault, covers wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering life, and carries the most serious penalties of the three.

The Crown must prove the force was intentional and non-consensual. Real defences exist and are used every day: self-defence under section 34, defence of property, consent in a mutual fight, identification, and the reliability of a complainant's account when the evidence is inconsistent or the surrounding circumstances suggest motive. Domestic-related assaults in Peel are handled on a dedicated track with strict release conditions, and those conditions can often be varied with proper submissions. See assault defence for more detail.

Robbery Charges

Robbery under section 343 is theft combined with violence or the threat of violence, and it is treated far more seriously than theft alone. It is punishable by up to life imprisonment, and a firearm allegation can attract a mandatory minimum. Defences commonly focus on identification, which is often the weakest part of the Crown's case, on whether the force or threat element can actually be proven, on party liability where several people are charged together, and on Charter issues arising from the arrest, the search, or an eyewitness identification procedure that was not conducted fairly.

Bail Hearings in Peel Region

If you are held for a show cause hearing, that hearing takes place at the Brampton courthouse, usually within twenty-four hours of arrest. At a bail hearing the court considers three grounds: whether you will attend court, whether your release poses a substantial likelihood of further offences or danger to the public, and whether release would undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.

In most cases the Crown bears the onus of showing why you should be detained, and the court is required to consider the least restrictive form of release first. In certain situations the onus reverses onto the accused, including where the offence is alleged to have been committed while already on release for another indictable offence, for certain firearm offences, for some criminal organization offences, and for serious trafficking allegations. Murder and a small number of other offences must be dealt with in the Superior Court.

A surety is a person, usually a family member, who promises to supervise you and pledges an amount of money that can be forfeited if you breach. A strong surety who is prepared, credible, and able to answer questions about supervision is frequently the single most important factor in a contested bail hearing. Preparing that person properly is work that has to be done before the hearing, not during it. Learn more about bail hearings.

Why Local Court Familiarity Matters

Criminal law is national, but criminal courts are local. Scheduling practices, disclosure timelines, how Crown pre-trials are booked, and how a particular office approaches resolution all vary from courthouse to courthouse. A lawyer who appears in Peel regularly knows which arguments land, how long a realistic trial date takes to obtain, and when to press versus when to wait. Robb also defends impaired driving charges across the region, where local procedure has a direct effect on outcome.

What to Do If You Have Been Charged

Say as little as possible. You have the right to remain silent, and there is no version of events you can offer at the roadside or in a cell that improves your position. Section 10(b) of the Charter gives you the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay, and police must give you a reasonable opportunity to do so before continuing to question you. Ask for a lawyer, and keep asking until you speak to one.

Write down what you remember while it is fresh: names, times, and what was said. Preserve messages, photographs, receipts, and witness contact information. Do not contact a complainant if your release conditions prohibit it, because a breach charge can do more damage than the original allegation. Then call a criminal lawyer. Every lawyer in Ontario is licensed and regulated by the Law Society of Ontario, and you are entitled to ask about experience before you retain anyone.

Judges praise his work. Other lawyers hire him. Robb is available day and night for a free, confidential consultation. Call (416) 315-1505, reach the Brampton office at (905) 283-7409, or use the contact page.