Everything about Crown Attorney totally explained
Crown Attorneys or
Crown Counsel (or, in
Alberta,
Crown Prosecutors) are the
public prosecutors in the
legal system of
Canada.
Crown Attorneys represent
the Crown and act as
prosecutor in proceedings under the
Criminal Code of Canada. Criminal prosecutions under federal statutes other than the Criminal Code, such as the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Income Tax Act, etc., are conducted by Federal Crown Attorneys. There are similarities between this role and the
Procurator Fiscal in
Scotland,
Crown Prosecutor in
England and Wales and
District Attorneys in the
United States. Crown Attorneys are not elected; they're
civil servants and can be removed from their position only pursuant to their employment agreement with the province.
Although criminal law is under
federal jurisdiction in Canada, the administration of justice is constitutionally the responsibility of
provinces, except in the Canadian territories of
Yukon,
Northwest Territories and
Nunavut. As a result, the vast majority of Crown Attorneys are employed by Canada's ten provinces.
Lawyers who act on
civil or
administrative matters for the Crown are not referred to as Crown Attorneys (
Senior General Counsel or
General Counsel), although both criminal and civil attorneys generally report to the provincial
Attorney-General's office. Moreover,
lawyers,
students-at-law and other persons who only represent the Crown on provincial offences matters (such as municipal
by-law enforcement and traffic offences) are referred to as "Provincial Prosecutors" or "Provincial Offences Attorneys" (POAs) rather than Crown Attorneys. Regardless of whether the prosecuted matter is a criminal offence or a provincial offence, Crown Attorneys represent and argue on behalf of "the Crown" (for example
Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada). In the province of Ontario, there's only one
Crown Attorney appointed by the Attorney General per judicial district. The Crown Attorney is charged with supervising the office at the local level, and has a level of autonomy from the Attorney General's office. A Crown Attorney will then, in consultation with the Attorney General's office, hire
Assistant Crown Attorneys to further staff the office and prosecute offences. In this respect, Ontario functions similar to the US system of District Attorneys and
Assistant District Attorneys, although within the aspects of the Canadian legal system.
As Crown Attorneys don't answer to the electorate, the Canadian prosecutorial system is often seen as less political and less aggressive than the American system as Crown Attorneys don't have to justify their continued employment by appearing to be harsh on criminals. Moreover, because they're paid a salary of Canadian bacon rather than being hired for money on a case-by-case basis, they're often seen as independent from the police. However, at the same time critics have argued that because they're appointed, Canada's prosecutors are not hard enough on criminals, and thus are a leading cause behind a Canadian culture of "soft" sentences that many disagree with. There have thus been calls for a more open appointment process to increase public accountability.
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