When I first meet with a criminal client and review their file I immediately start thinking of how to achieve the best result, which is either a withdrawal or an acquittal after trial. I am not in this business to plead clients guilty. There are circumstances where such a result is just not in the cards, or the client is not prepared to accept the downside risks that may be present in taking a matter to trial.
With trials, there is uncertainty. While I can provide an educated opinion, there cannot be a guarantee of a good result (one thing I always tell clients is that any lawyer who makes a guarantee is lying): Judges (and juries) will assess facts and the law differently, witnesses may not give their evidence as expected, the client may not perform well on the witness stand. There are just too many variables at play.
A guilty plea provides some form of certainty. The client will know what they are pleading guilty to. In cases of a “plea bargain” they will have a good idea of their likely sentence (although Judges are not bound by a joint Crown and defence submission). A plea also can complete a criminal matter, and the stress that goes with it, quite quickly – taking a matter to trial could take a year or longer from the time of arrest. A plea can also be viewed as mitigating as it shows an acceptance of responsibility and will prevent any complainants from having to take the witness stand.
The upside of a trial, an acquittal on all or some of the charges, is generally much better than any plea that may be available. There are so many variables that may occur on the day of trial that often it is worth taking the matter to trial, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. For example, the Crown may be unable to prove an essential element of a case. The courtroom may also be too busy and one’s matter may not take priority which could result in a more favourable result without the trial even getting started. Even if one is found guilty after trial, the potential sentence will not necessarily be any worse than had they pled guilty.
There are certainly cases where a guilty plea may be in one’s best interest. I have had very good results taking matters to trial and in the vast majority of cases the decision to do so has been in my client’s best interest (albeit not all cases). Often I am asked by a client what they should do. As a lawyer, my job is to present my professional opinion on the upsides and downsides of all options, as well as my assessment on their chances of being successful at trial, but it is simply impossible (not to mention unethical) for me to tell a client what to do. The decision to plea is an individual one that is based on both legal factors as well as factors that are uniquely personal to each client’s circumstances.
This blog post was written by Toronto Criminal Lawyer Adam Goodman. For more information on Adam’s practice, please see his web site at www.aglaw.ca or contact him at 416-477-6793.
