Criminal Division

The Honourable Lyne Décarie is the coordinating judge for the Criminal Division of all judicial districts of the Montréal Division, excluding Bedford, St-François and Mégantic.

 

Contact Information
Phone514 393-2191, ext 53160
E-mailch.crim.csq.mtl@judex.qc.ca

 

The Criminal and Penal Practice Division sits on fixed dates, determined each year by the coordinating judge for the Criminal Division.

Once an appeal has been filed and found to be in conformity with the Rules of Practice of the Court in Criminal and Penal Matters, the clerk places the case on the roll of the practice chamber for the district. Once the file is complete (in other words, once the stenographic notes have been completed and a time has been set for submitting the notes and the list of case law and doctrine), the judge fixes a date for the hearing in the presence of the attorneys.

When filing a notice of appeal, you must take the necessary steps to have a transcript made of the evidence given in first instance. If, in exceptional circumstances, you wish to be exempted from filing a transcript, you must submit an application for that purpose to the judge.

As soon as the transcript has been filed, the attorneys must comply with sections 11 and 12 of the Rules of Practice of the Québec Superior Court in Penal Matters or section 34 of the Rules of Practice of the Superior Court of the Province of Québec. The appellant must, within 30 days, file a written submission setting out the arguments on which the appellant’s case will rely, together with any supporting case law or jurisprudence. The respondent party then has 30 days to do the same.

Once the time limits have expired, the case is placed on the roll for a hearing.

 

PRO FORMA ROLL
Day and frequency:  According to the dates provided by the clerk’s office
ROLL OF CONTESTED MATTERS
Day and frequency:   According to the dates provided by the clerk’s office

 

All urgent applications must be presented to the coordinating judge to be dealt with by preference

 

Motions must be filed at the clerk’s office of the Superior Court, and a copy must be forwarded to the office of the coordinating judge so that a date can be fixed for a hearing.

For writs of certiorarimandamus, prohibition and quo warranto, the applicant must take the necessary steps to have a transcript made of the evidence supporting the recourse sought.

For a writ of habeas corpus, the motion must be filed in the clerk’s office, and the coordinating judge must be informed of the proceeding. In all cases, a hearing date will be fixed without delay to hear the first stage.

Applications for the review, by a judge of the Superior Court, of an order of detention, order of release or application for release (s. 522 C.C.) must be submitted at the clerk’s office of the Superior Court, and must comply with the provisions of the rules of practice of the Court (ss. 20 and 21 ).

When an application for extradition is contested, the coordinating judge must be informed and the parties must indicate the estimated duration of the proceedings so that a date can be set for the hearing.