summary offence

(redirected from Summary conviction offence)
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Related to Summary conviction offence: Indictable offense, Summary offense

summary offence

an offence which is charged in a summary court and which accordingly attracts a lesser sentence. The summary court will not have a jury. In the UK such courts are found in the Magistrates Court and the Sheriff Court. See INDICTABLE OFFENCE.

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References in periodicals archive ?

Previously, crimes against livestock were indictable offences while those against companion animals were summary conviction offences.

Animal protection laws across Canada

After they were found guilty of summary conviction offences, three aboriginal men filed notices of appeal, which did not focus on their convictions, but rather argued that they were not subject to the laws of Canada, or the province of Alberta because their forefathers had not entered into treaties with the Crown in this respect.

From forefathers forward (three Aboriginal men found guilty when judge declined their notice of appeal)

If you are a reader of true crime or a watcher of the courts, you will have heard of American crimes categorized as felonies or misdemeanours, and perhaps have heard of Canadian crimes categorized as indictable or summary conviction offences.

summary conviction offences which are the least serious.

The so-called hybrid offences--the word hybrid does not appear in the Criminal Code--are offences for which the crown attorney has a choice to treat the offences as indictable or as summary conviction offences.

The hybrid offences treated this way and the crimes which are exclusively summary conviction offences are some of the most common offences.