If you go to court and your file is not on the court list, it can mean that the charges for your matter have not yet been approved.
While you may have received a Promise to Appear (the “PTA”) or appearance notice requiring your presence in court, your file may still not be on the court list that day. At times, the PTA date will not be the date of your first appearance. This is entirely dependent on whether Crown counsel has approved the charges.
Therefore, it is important to check whether your file is on the court list before appearing in court, as your matter will not be heard if it is not on the court list that day.
The crown office sometimes requires additional disclosure or further information from the police enforcement agency; for this reason, the file is not immediately approved by the crown.
The file may go back and forth between the police enforcement agency and crown counsel so that the crown can have the necessary information. There is always the possibility that the crown will not proceed with the charges.
Thus, if your matter is not on the court list, it is important to regularly check with the crown office to verify whether the crown will be proceeding with the charges.
If the crown finds that it would not be appropriate to pursue the charges, they will be dropped. This means that you must no longer check with the crown office for the status of your file.
If the crown has indicated that they will not pursue the charges, you are free to go.
This matter will not appear on any record. You will not have a criminal record.