After you are charged with a criminal offence and released from police custody, you will be expected to attend court. You may also have to attend the Calgary police headquarters for identification purposes, which will include having your fingerprints taken. If you do not attend court or get your fingerprints taken when required, then a warrant will be issued for your arrest and new criminal charges will follow.
On your first court appearance, you will not be able to argue the case in front of a judge. Instead, you will be directed to speak with duty counsel about what comes next in the criminal case against you. ‘Duty counsel’ refers to the lawyer provided by Legal Aid Alberta to help self-representing individuals at court. The duty counsel lawyer can speak to the judge for you but is not intended to take the role of your lawyer. Of course, if you have already hired a lawyer, then you may not have to attend court at all.
At the first court appearance, the criminal case against you will be pushed back a few weeks, to give you time to hire a lawyer and/or attain disclosure from the Crown prosecution services.