Preliminary Inquiry (Accused) - Alberta Practice Direction - Provincial Court Procedure

Purpose of this Guide: Use this fork when representing an accused in the Alberta Court of Justice. It guides defence counsel through regional scheduling, Pre-Preliminary Inquiry Conferences, and the completion of mandatory Alberta criminal forms.

Jurisdiction: Alberta Court of Justice, operating under provincial practice directions and regional scheduling rules.

The Process at a Glance: The process starts with reviewing Alberta regional practice notes to identify specific JCM and coordinator requirements. Counsel submits an integrated scheduling request to the Case Coordinator. Following the election of a trial in the Court of King's Bench, counsel coordinates and attends the mandatory Pre-Preliminary Inquiry Conference (PPIC) for hearings expected to exceed two days. Counsel files the Alberta-specific Form 4 Statement of Issues and reviews the Crown's Form 5 Position. Any substantive pre-trial motions are filed using Form 1 Applications at least thirty days prior to the hearing. Counsel serves Form 16 witness subpoenas, argues the committal threshold, and calculates defense-attributed delay under the Jordan framework.