What are the differences between summary and indictable offences and how are they trailed in the court?
Summary offences are minor transgressions of provincial or municipal law – all statutes, ie motor traffic vehicle accident & and less serious criminal offences generalyy punishable by not more than a $2000 fine or 6 months jail – handled by a magistrate by a summary judgment. Indictable offences are more serious crimes, ie, murder, rape, robbery punishable in a federal penetentiary for a minimun of 2 years usually tried at the Superior/Supreme Court level. Then there are hybrid offences that can be classified as either depending on severity or offenses that are summary for a first offence but can be elevated to indictable for repeated offences.