04 / 12 · Criminal Code, ss. 264, 266, 810
Domestic Assault
Domestic allegations can keep you from your home and children before your case is ever decided. We move quickly to address restrictive release conditions and build your defence.
- Domestic assault
- No-contact and residence conditions
- Peace bonds
- Criminal harassment
What is at stake
Why this charge needs a real defence.
Ontario treats intimate partner allegations under a strict charging policy: where police believe an offence occurred they will lay a charge, and the Crown will rarely withdraw it simply because the complainant asks. Release conditions usually bar you from contacting your partner or returning home, and breaching them is a new criminal offence. The case can also shape family court, immigration, and employment outcomes.
How it is done
How we build your defence.
- 1
Deal with your release conditions first
Being shut out of your home and separated from your children is often the most urgent problem. We work to secure your release and, where possible, to vary conditions so that contact and access can resume lawfully.
- 2
Assess the Crown's case early
We review the 911 call, the statements, the photographs, and any history between you. Early review shows whether the case is likely to proceed and what the Crown needs to prove it.
- 3
Explore a resolution without a record
In suitable cases the charge can be withdrawn in exchange for a peace bond, or resolved through counselling-based programs. We will tell you plainly whether that is realistic in your situation.
- 4
Prepare for trial
If the allegation is false or exaggerated, the case should be tried. We prepare cross-examination around inconsistencies, motive, and the surrounding evidence.
What we look for
The issues that decide these cases.
- 01
Release conditions
Conditions can be changed, but only through the proper process. Returning home because your partner invited you is still a breach.
- 02
A reluctant complainant
A complainant who recants or does not want to testify changes the case, but does not automatically end it.
- 03
Self-defence and context
The first account police hear is not always the full story. The surrounding evidence often tells a different one.
- 04
Family and immigration impact
How the criminal case resolves can affect parenting time and immigration status, so the strategy must account for both.
Possible outcomes
What a good result can look like.
- Withdrawal of the charge on a section 810 peace bond
- Bail conditions varied to allow contact or a return home
- Acquittal at trial
- A discharge that avoids a criminal conviction
Every case turns on its own facts. These are examples of results that may be available, not a prediction or guarantee of the outcome in your matter.
Questions
What people ask us first.
Not directly. In Ontario the Crown decides whether a domestic charge continues, and policy discourages withdrawing charges only because the complainant asks. Your partner's views still matter, and there are proper ways for them to be heard.
Not while your release order prohibits contact or attendance at the home. Even an invitation does not protect you from a breach charge. The conditions have to be varied first, and that is often one of the first things we work on.
Next step
Talk to us about your domestic assault matter.
A short conversation now can prevent mistakes that are hard to undo later. What you tell us is confidential.
