<!-- How urgent is a criminal matter: the markdown version of https://mithril.law/criminal/intake-triage -->

# How urgent is a criminal matter

## Get an answer with one URL

Fetch this. It returns a real answer as markdown, with every step cited and a signed receipt:

https://mithril.law/criminal/intake-triage.md?inCustody=true

That URL uses the worked example's facts. For the person's own answer, put their facts in the query string the same way (dotted names, one parameter per fact). If a fact is missing or unclear, the answer lists it with the next URL to fetch. The same answer as JSON: https://mithril.law/api/v1/operations/criminal.intake_triage/run?inCustody=true

No sign-in needed.

From custody and court dates only: how fast to reach me, and whether to call now or book a consultation. No legal conclusions.

Call this first when someone contacts you about an arrest or a criminal charge, to decide between calling me now and booking a consultation. It needs only whether anyone is in custody now and any bail hearing or court date. Do not collect the facts of the case.

## Facts

- `inCustody`: Held by the police, or in jail or a detention centre, today. (true or false, required)
- `bailHearingDate`: If a bail hearing is set, its date. (date, YYYY-MM-DD, optional)
- `nextCourtDate`: From the release papers, summons or appearance notice. (date, YYYY-MM-DD, optional)
- `today`: Leave blank to use today’s date in Ontario. (date, YYYY-MM-DD, optional)

## Price

Free.

Preview: a lawyer has not yet verified every rule behind this tool.

## The law behind it

- How urgent is it: custody and court dates (unverified): The urgency of a criminal matter is worked out from the facts given, in this order. It is a scheduling decision only and says nothing about the case itself.
1. Someone is in custody now: immediate.
2. A bail hearing is 0, 1 or 2 days away (today, tomorrow or the day after): immediate.
3. A date given has already passed: immediate.
4. The next court date, or a bail hearing, is 0 to 7 days away: soon.
5. Otherwise: standard.
Days are counted from today's date in Ontario (America/Toronto) on the day of the run, unless the input gives today's date.
Immediate: the next action is a call with me now (book a call). Soon or standard: book a consultation.
When a next court date is given, "What happens next" also shows the line "Your next court date is <Month D, YYYY>, <today | tomorrow | in N days>." or, if it has passed, "The court date you gave, <Month D, YYYY>, has passed. If it was missed, call a lawyer today."
  - Criminal Code, s. 503: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-503.html
  - Criminal Code, s. 516: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-516.html
  - Criminal Code, s. 145: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-145.html

## What the answer tells you

- `automated`: Done: the software answered this completely.
- `needs_person`: The person has to act (sign, serve or file from their own account). Pass the next steps to them.
- `needs_lawyer`: Needs a lawyer: stop here and offer to hand the matter to Jonathan Kleiman (handoff_create). Do not give legal advice yourself.

## Do this through the API

- REST: `POST https://mithril.law/api/v1/operations/criminal.intake_triage/runs` with `{ "input": { … } }`, or `GET https://mithril.law/api/v1/operations/criminal.intake_triage/run?…`. Schema: https://mithril.law/api/v1/operations/criminal.intake_triage.
- MCP: tool `criminal_intake_triage` at https://mithril.law/mcp.
- The page for people: https://mithril.law/criminal/intake-triage.