A cluster of new towers at sunset, standing above a rail corridor and highway with low-rise streets running to the horizon
Durham Region

Criminal lawyers in Oshawa

Durham Region criminal and youth matters are heard at 150 Bond Street East.

The work

Defending charges in Oshawa

The Durham Region Courthouse at 150 Bond Street East in Oshawa hears criminal and youth matters for Durham, which takes in Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Clarington and the townships north of them.

Durham Regional Police cover a large and mixed area, from dense parts of Oshawa and Pickering out to rural Brock and Uxbridge. The charges reflect it: domestic matters, impaired driving from the 401 and Highway 407 extension, assaults, drug charges, and a steady volume of youth matters heard under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Youth matters are worth singling out because parents often do not realise how much is at stake or how different the process is. Records are handled differently, publication is restricted, and there are diversion routes that simply do not exist for adults. Getting a young person into the right stream early can end the matter without a finding of guilt at all.

Oshawa is about an hour from our Vaughan office. We appear there regularly, and for a matter that will be heard in Durham we would rather make the drive than hand the brief to an agent who has not read the file.

Region

Durham Region

Courthouse

Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe, DSO, MP Courthouse

Address

150 Bond Street East, Oshawa, Ontario L1G 0A2

Duty counsel

905-728-3801⁠. Free to everyone, whatever you earn.

Our office

4040 Steeles Avenue West, Suite 35, Vaughan

Telephone

(416) 645-2888

The courthouse

Where the case is actually heard

The building, and what sits in it.

Durham Region adult and youth criminal matters are heard here, from Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Bowmanville and Port Perry.

The courthouse is Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe, DSO, MP Courthouse, at 150 Bond Street East, Oshawa, Ontario L1G 0A2. If you have a date there and no lawyer yet, duty counsel are at the building and cost nothing, whatever you earn. They can speak for you on a remand or a bail hearing. They cannot run your trial, which is the part worth thinking about early. Hours, virtual appearance details and the Crown office contacts are published by the court itself: the Ontario Court of Justice listing for this location⁠.

Charges

What we defend

The 7 areas most of our trial work sits in.

Drug Offences

Possession, trafficking, importation and production, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.

  • Possession
  • Possession for the purpose
  • Trafficking
Read more

Sexual Offences

Sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, sexual exploitation.

  • Sexual assault
  • Sexual interference
  • Invitation to sexual touching
Read more

Homicide

Murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, criminal negligence causing death.

  • First and second degree murder
  • Manslaughter
  • Attempted murder
Read more

Firearms, Guns & Gangs

Firearms offences, imitation firearms, improper storage, and criminal organization prosecutions.

  • Possession of a firearm
  • Use in the commission of an offence
  • Improper storage
Read more

Fraud & Financial Crime

Fraud over and under $5,000, employee and corporate fraud, forensic accounting cases.

  • Fraud over / under $5,000
  • Employee and corporate fraud
  • Forensic accounting evidence
Read more

Assault & Domestic

Assault, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, and domestic matters.

  • Assault
  • Assault causing bodily harm
  • Aggravated assault
Read more

Impaired Driving

Impaired operation, over 80, refusing the demand, and impaired causing bodily harm or death.

  • Impaired operation
  • Over 80
  • Refusing the demand
Read more

Theft, Break & Enter, Robbery

Theft over and under $5,000, break and enter, robbery, and possession of stolen property.

  • Theft over $5,000
  • Theft under $5,000
  • Break and enter
Read more

Internet Offences

Child sexual abuse material, luring, voyeurism, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

  • Possession
  • Accessing
  • Making and distribution
Read more
Answers

Questions

Which court covers Whitby, Ajax and Pickering?

All Durham Region criminal matters, including Whitby, Ajax, Pickering and Clarington, are heard at 150 Bond Street East in Oshawa.

Do you take youth matters?

Yes. Youth charges under the Youth Criminal Justice Act are heard at the same courthouse and we act on them regularly.

Official sources for Oshawa: Durham Regional Police⁠, Youth Criminal Justice Act⁠. If you cannot afford counsel, Legal Aid Ontario may be able to help, and the Law Society Referral Service can put you in touch with a lawyer for a free half-hour.

Written and reviewed by Rita Levin⁠, criminal defence lawyer, called to the Ontario bar on 29 May 1998. Law Society of Ontario licence no. 41157R⁠. Last reviewed .

Speak to us

Charged in Oshawa?

Tell us what happened and you will hear where you stand. It costs nothing and there is no obligation afterwards.

(416) 645-2888

Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Messages picked up after hours · Second line (416) 868-4529

We are a private practice and our fees reflect the work involved. A serious matter is prepared over months, and we keep our numbers low so each file gets the hours it needs. We will tell you what your case is likely to cost on the first call, before you commit to anything. And if the honest answer is that duty counsel, Legal Aid or another firm would serve you better, we will tell you that instead.