It is the responsibility of the Charging Officer or the Crown Prosecutor to determine whether an offence is too serious to be charged as a Summary Conviction Offence. This deliberation is contingent upon factors such as whether or not bodily harm or aggravated assault occurred during the commission of the offence. If those elements are present, the Charge will be laid as an Indictable Offence and the accused will be tried in the Superior Court of Ontario before a Judge or a Judge and Jury.

Summary Conviction Offences carry a maximum punishment of 18 months in jail and these charges are heard before a magistrate in the Ontario Court of Justice, while Indictable Offences carry maximum sentences of either 5, 10, 14 years, or life in jail. For example, with respect to theft, theft under $5000.00 is a Summary Conviction Offence, while theft over $5000.00 is an Indictable Offence. Theft is a Hybrid Offence because it can be charged either way.

Although The Lever Paralegal Agency may defend clients charged with Summary Conviction Offences where the maximum punishment does not exceed 6 months, The Lever Paralegal Agency is not able to accept a contingency fee or represent clients who are charged with an Indictable Offence.