Legal Question in Criminal Law in Canada

Re: Dismissing charges

If the police instituted the charge, or the charge is domestic in nature, or if the assault was serious, you will have to convince a Crown attorney that it is appropriate to withdraw. In domestic violence situations, the Crown Attorney's office operates on a directive not to withdraw such charges as long as there is a reasonable prospect of conviction.

As far as having the defendant being able to contact you, surprisingly that is also a matter for the prosecutor. It appears that in your case, the police laid the charge and, in order to get released, the defendant had to enter into an undertaking not to contact you. Either the undertaking was entered into at the police station before an officer in charge, or a justice of the peace, in court, imposed the condition. If the condition was imposed by an officer in charge, the defendant can apply for a hearing before or at the first court appearance to have the condition removed. A hearing will have to be held regarding the condition. In any other case, the individual must either get a review of the condition or seek the Crown Attorney's consent to vary the condition.

If you wish the condition changed, you therefore need to speak to a Crown attorney and seek his or her consent.

More information regarding these issues is available at kennyg.ca.