Legal Project Management Plan & Checklist
Purpose of this Guide: Use this plan when representing a youth client who has been charged with a serious violent offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and faces a Crown application for an adult sentence. It guides defence counsel through challenging the Crown's application, coordinating clinical assessments, and managing custody placement decisions.
Jurisdiction: This plan operates under Canadian federal law and applies to youth justice courts across all provinces and territories. The forks address: (1) placement and transition protocols at ages eighteen and twenty, and (2) requesting a specialized Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision sentence.
The Process at a Glance: The process begins with identifying whether the Crown has served a Notice of Intention to seek an adult sentence before plea or trial start. If notice is served, the lawyer advises the client on electing their mode of trial. Counsel coordinates clinical forensic assessments under section thirty-four to gather evidence of the client's developmental age. If the client is found guilty, the court holds a contested pre-sentence hearing where the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the presumption of diminished blameworthiness is rebutted. If an adult sentence is avoided, the youth is sentenced under the youth regime; if an adult sentence is imposed, a placement hearing determines if the sentence starts in a youth or adult facility.
Use this fork to secure and manage an Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) sentence under sections 42(2)(r) and 42(7) of the YCJA as a therapeutic, rehabilitation-focused alternative to an adult sentence.
Use this fork to manage custody placement reviews and transitions when a youth client reaches eighteen or twenty years of age while serving a youth sentence, or faces an administrative application to transfer to an adult facility.
Key Legislation and Case Law: The proceeding is governed by the Youth Criminal Justice Act (S.C. 2002, c. 1), specifically section sixty-four for adult sentence applications, section sixty-seven for trial elections, section seventy-one for pre-sentence hearings, and section seventy-two for the sentencing test. Forensic assessments are ordered under section thirty-four. Custody classification and transfers are regulated by sections seventy-six, eighty-nine, ninety-two, and ninety-three. Publication bans and record access are governed by sections one hundred and ten, one hundred and eleven, and one hundred and nineteen. Key authorities include R. v. D.B. (2008 SCC 25), elevating the presumption of diminished moral culpability to a Charter section seven principle of fundamental justice, and the companion rulings R. v. I.M. (2025 SCC 23) and R. v. S.B. (2025 SCC 24), which established that the Crown must prove the rebuttal of the presumption of diminished culpability beyond a reasonable doubt under the first prong, and that the seriousness of the offence is irrelevant to that inquiry. See the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Justice Laws Portal) and the Criminal Code (Justice Laws Portal) for statutory text.
* Disclaimer: We're nobody's lawyer, because we aren't lawyers. You are, so you know better than to take legal advice from an app. We also aren't accountants or dog trainers - just digital spirit guides taking zero liability for any of this. This site exists to gather the collective knowledge of practitioners like you. Verify everything and submit your feedback on the YCJA Adult Sentencing and Custody Transitions (Accused) matter plan to improve the playbook. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, it's a request for input.
This legal matter plan provides a structured workflow for Criminal Law cases, outlining the standard Litigation process. Utilize these tracking templates to manage your legal cases efficiently.
| Field | Token | Type | Required | Defined in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matter(4) | ||||
| Matter numberⓘ | matter.matterNumber | text | Required | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter title | matter.title | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter typeⓘ | matter.matterType | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter status | matter.status | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Client(1) | ||||
| Client name | matter.clientName | text | Required | inheritedmatter-core |
Initiate the client file, perform conflict checks, and establish contact with the youth and their family.
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Advise the client and formally elect the mode of trial under section 67 of the YCJA.
Complete the section 34 court-ordered or independent assessments regarding the client's developmental age.
Complete the trial phase and receive the court's finding regarding guilt.
Litigate the adult sentencing application under section 72 and secure either a youth or adult sentence.
Litigate the adult sentencing application under section 72 and secure either a youth or adult sentence.
We do not house forms for this jurisdiction yet. Where a task names a form, its link goes to the official source.