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COVID-19 updates
We’ve temporarily changed some of our services.

Legal Aid Ontario is moving!
Starting April 2023, Legal Aid Ontario’s Provincial Office, Toronto Family Law Services Office, Criminal Senior Counsel Services Office, and Refugee Law Office will be located on the seventh floor of the Atrium on Bay.

Legal Aid Ontario
Atrium on Bay
20 Dundas St. West
Suite 730

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  • Services
    • Temporary service changes due to COVID-19
    • COVID-19 and the courts: Answers to frequently asked questions
    • Our services
    • Criminal legal issues
    • Domestic Violence
    • Family legal issues
    • Mental health legal issues
    • Refugee and immigration legal issues
    • Legal clinics
    • How to apply
    • Find a lawyer
      • Finding the right legal aid lawyer
    • What do you think about our services?
  • For legal professionals
    • COVID-19: Ongoing list of supports for lawyers
    • LASA 2020 process updates for lawyers
    • Changes to policies and certificate coverage
    • Roster resources
      • Audit & Compliance
      • Billing
      • Case management
      • Forms library
      • Legal Aid Services Act, 2020 policies
      • Legal Aid Online
      • LAO LAW
      • Minimum experience requirements
      • More resources
    • Do legal aid work
    • Mentoring
    • Test case funding
    • News for lawyers
    • B3 Newsletters
    • Contacts for lawyers
  • Corporate
    • About
      • By-laws
      • Our clients
      • Board of Directors
      • Executive Team
      • Board Advisory Committees
      • Sidney B. Linden Award
      • French Language Services
    • Legal Aid Services Act, 2020
      • LASA 2020 Rules and Policies
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What happens in mental health court?

Many different criminal court proceedings can happen in mental health court. Some mental health courts deal only with assessment orders or mental health diversion. Other mental health courts do almost everything, including bail hearings, guilty pleas, judicial pre‑trials, and some trials for accused persons with mental health issues.

Mental health courts are designed to deal with accused persons who are experiencing mental health difficulties with understanding and sensitivity. Often, they are less formal than other criminal courts. Depending on the courthouse, there may be specific criteria that must be met before an accused can be sent to mental health court. For example, in some courthouses, a mental health court worker may meet with the accused and recommend that they be dealt with in mental health court before they can be transferred into that court. In other courthouses, the criteria may not be so strict.

In order to find out about the mental health court in a specific courthouse, it is best to speak with a local lawyer, duty counsel, mental health court worker or a Crown.

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Questions

What is mental health diversion?

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