Assistance
How do I prepare for my case at court martial?
If you are facing charges for service offences that have been referred to trial by court martial, you are entitled to counsel (legal advice and representation) from DCS at no cost to you. If you do not wish to use the services of DCS, you have the right to consult or hire a civilian lawyer at your own expense.
Military legal officers of the DCS are members of a provincial law society and are bound to the same professional obligations as civilian defence counsel to represent the interests of their clients and to provide independent legal advice. To avoid a conflict of interest, legal officers of the DCS work independent from the chain of command.
Defence counsel
If you request to be represented (to have someone act and speak on your behalf in court) by DCS, you will be contacted by email or letter to notify you of which lawyer you have been appointed.
Defence lawyers have a professional duty to protect the information that their clients disclose to them in confidence. Any information you provide your defence lawyer about your case will be protected by law under solicitor-client privilege.
The Military Prosecutor and military police must provide you and your defence counsel with a copy of or access to any information that will be relied on at court martial or that tends to show that you did not commit the service offence.
Copies of or access to this information must be provided in sufficient time to allow you and your lawyer to properly prepare a defence prior to the beginning of proceedings. Any additional information that comes to light that may be relied on at trial or tends to show you did not commit the service offence must similarly be provided immediately to you and your defence counsel.
In contrast, you and your defence counsel do not have a duty to provide information to investigators or the chain of command.
How do I prepare for a summary hearing?
If you are charged with a service infraction, you are entitled to have an officer, or in exceptional circumstances, a NCM above the rank of sergeant appointed to assist you.
You are not entitled, however, to the services of DCS if you are charged with a service infraction, except for requesting legal advice of a general nature.
Assisting member
On being charged with a service infraction, you may request a particular member to act as your assisting member. If you do not request anyone specific to be your assisting member, your chain of command will appoint one to you.
If you are in the Regular Force, an assisting member must be appointed within three days of your CO receiving the charge report.
If you are in the Reserve Force, you must be appointed an assisting member within seven days of your CO receiving the charge report.
An assisting member does not act as or qualify as legal counsel to defend you. As such, assisting members are not bound by solicitor-client privilege. Any communication shared between you and your assisting member, however, should be kept confidential.
The assisting member may assist, advise, and make representations for you throughout your hearing and during any review to the extent that you are comfortable with. They should also inform you of mental health support and services that are available and provide you with respective contact information.
You may request that your assisting member help you with:
- preparing for the summary hearing by identifying relevant witnesses, determining what evidence could be used as a defence to the charge(s), and organizing evidence to be presented at the summary hearing
- during the summary hearing, ensuring witnesses testify, present evidence, question witnesses, and make representations
- preparing for and make representations at a summary review
To assist you in preparing your defence, you are entitled to have copies of or access to any information that may be relied on as evidence at the summary hearing, or information that shows that you did not commit the alleged infraction. Your CO is responsible for ensuring you have this information.
As further evidence or relevant information becomes available, it must be provided to you and your assisting member immediately. You do not have a corresponding duty to provide information to investigators or the chain of command.
You can request permission from the officer conducting the summary hearing (OCSH) to be allowed to be represented by legal counsel at your own expense, although allowing this is discretionary.
In order to help you prepare for your summary hearing, you will be provided with:
- a copy of any written statement you made
- a copy of any documentary evidence
- a copy of any written statement made by a witness
- a copy of any interviews with you or a witness
- a copy of any photographs, videos, sound clips, screenshots
- a copy of the investigation report
- access to the physical evidence, where physical evidence exists
Before the summary hearing begins, you must be advised of your right to give representations on these documents and be given a reasonable period (usually 24 hours from when you receive the documents).