Stuart O'Connell Criminal Law Blog

To be effective a guilty plea must be voluntary, unequivocal and informed. And to be informed, the person pleading guilty must be aware of the nature of the allegations said to constitute the offence, the effect of the plea;,and the consequences of the plea. R. v. T.(R.) (1992), 10 O.R. (3d) 514 (C.A.), at p. 519; R. v. Lyons , [1987] 2 S.C.R. 309, at p. 371. A guilty plea is a formal in-court admission of guilt. It constitutes a waiver not only of the accused’s right to require the Crown to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt by properly admissible evidence, but also of the related procedural safeguards in the criminal trial process, some of which are constitutionally enshrined and protected.   T.(R.) , at p. 519; Korponay v. Canada (Attorney General) , [1982] 1 S.C.R. 41, at p. 49. On an appeal from conviction, an accused may challenge the validity of a guilty plea, but bears the onus of showing, on a balance of probabilities, that the plea was invalid becau...

There are a number of reasons why a court will accept a guilty plea as a mitigating factor on sentence: ·        A guilty plea may be an expression of remorse and an acceptance of responsibility; ·        A guilty plea may save the justice system the time and expense of a trial, and ·        A guilty plea may provide a degree of finality from the perspective of the victims which would not exist without the plea.    A plea of guilt does not entitle an offender to a set standard of mitigation. The amount of credit a guilty plea attracts will vary in each case. R. v. F.H.L., 2018 ONCA 83, at para. 22 [guilty plea did not deserve any weight as a mitigating factor]. The effect of a guilty plea in setting the appropriate sentence will vary with the circumstances of each case. In some cases, a guilty plea is a demonstration of remorse and a positive first step towards r...