Fees, timelines and what I take on

Most criminal lawyers in Toronto bill by the hour, and rates run anywhere from $500 to $5,000 an hour. I think that's excessive for someone who is already under stress. I bill by the hour too, and my rates are reasonable. The total depends on the charge, how much disclosure there is to read, and whether the case resolves early or goes to trial; a trial takes far more hours than a withdrawal. I tell you what to expect before you hire me, so there are no surprises in the middle.

Four things, mostly. How serious the charge is. How much evidence there is to go through, since a case with hours of video and several witnesses takes longer than one with a single police report. Whether it resolves before trial or needs one. And how many court appearances it takes to get there. Since I bill by the hour, each of those is hours on the clock.

The lawyer's experience matters too: fifty years in court means I can usually see where a case is going sooner, and that saves time.

Within 24 hours. Call 416-364-8131 or email dkayfetz@gmail.com and we'll talk, by phone or email, within a day.

You tell me what you're charged with, what happened from your side, and when your next court date is. If you already have the disclosure, the Crown's evidence package, I want to see all of it; email it before we meet if you can.

From that I tell you which situation you're in: proof with a flaw, or proof that holds. Then we talk about what I'd do, what it would cost, and what you should and shouldn't do in the meantime.

In Ontario it runs roughly like this.

1. First appearance. You or I confirm you have a lawyer and we ask for disclosure.
2. Disclosure. The Crown hands over its evidence and I read it.
3. Crown pre-trial. I meet the prosecutor to find out what they want and tell them where their case is weak.
4. Judicial pre-trial. A judge hears both sides and often pushes for a resolution.
5. Resolution or trial. The charge is withdrawn, we resolve it on terms I've negotiated, or we set a trial date and I try the case.

Most cases take months, not weeks.

A charge that gets withdrawn after the Crown reads my position can end in a few months. A case that goes to trial in the Ontario Court of Justice usually runs the better part of a year or more, because trial dates are set months out.

Delay is not always bad for you; sometimes it is the Crown's case that weakens with time.

Impaired driving, driving over the legal limit and refusing a breath sample are Criminal Code charges, and they are decided on proof like any other: was the stop lawful, were the samples taken properly, does the paperwork hold up.

The same way I handle everything: proof first. In a possession case the questions are usually how the police found the drugs, whether the search was legal, and whether the Crown can show the drugs were yours and you knew they were there. If the search was bad, the evidence can be excluded and the case can collapse.

I am known as a lawyer who will take that argument to trial rather than plead early because it's easier.

In Canada the question is a little different from the American one. The Criminal Code is federal law, so every criminal charge is a federal offence; most are prosecuted by the provincial Crown in Ontario courts. Drug charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act are prosecuted by the federal prosecution service, still in the same Ontario courts. Either way, it's a court I've worked in for fifty years.

Youth cases, for anyone 12 to 17 at the time of the offence, run under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Sentences are lighter, records are sealed sooner, and the law pushes hard toward keeping young people out of custody; a good defence uses all of that.

In Canada this is called a record suspension (it used to be called a pardon) and it's granted by the Parole Board of Canada after a waiting period, not by a court.