Most Toronto criminal cases are heard at the Toronto Courthouse, 10 Armoury Street — the consolidated home of the Ontario Court of Justice's criminal operations, which absorbed the caseloads of Old City Hall, College Park, the Finch and Eglinton courthouses, and the youth court. Indictable matters that proceed to Superior Court — jury trials and the most serious charges — are heard at 361 University Avenue. Your courthouse and courtroom appear on your release papers, and daily dockets are posted online and in the lobby.
- The Toronto Courthouse at 10 Armoury Street now hosts most Ontario Court of Justice criminal matters in the city.
- The old names — Old City Hall, College Park, 1000/2201 Finch, 1911 Eglinton — largely consolidated into Armoury Street.
- Superior Court criminal matters — jury trials, the most serious charges — run at 361 University Avenue.
- Your release papers name your courthouse and room; daily dockets confirm it the morning of.
- Bail courts, case-management courts, trial courts and specialty courts all live inside the same Armoury Street building.
- Missing court because you went to the wrong building still means a bench warrant — verify before you go.
The Consolidation: What Changed
For decades, Toronto criminal justice was scattered: Old City Hall at Queen and Bay, College Park up Yonge Street, suburban courthouses on Finch Avenue and Eglinton East, youth court on Jarvis. That geography ended when the province opened the Toronto Courthouse at 10 Armoury Street — a purpose-built tower behind Osgoode Hall that consolidated the Ontario Court of Justice's criminal operations from those locations, including youth matters, into one address.
The practical consequence: most advice, blog posts, and even old court paperwork referencing the legacy courthouses is out of date. If your charge is recent, your appearances are almost certainly at Armoury Street; if your case started years ago or you are dealing with old records, the file has been migrated. When in doubt, the answer is never to guess — it is on your release documents, the daily court lists, or one call to your criminal defence lawyer.
10 Armoury Street: The Toronto Courthouse
The Armoury Street courthouse is where a Toronto criminal charge lives for most of its life. Inside one building: bail courts, where newly arrested people have their release decided (the process our guide to bail hearings in Toronto walks through); case-management courts, the high-volume rooms where first appearances and adjournments happen; trial courts for the summary and provincial-track matters that make up most of the docket; youth courts operating under the Youth Criminal Justice Act; and Toronto's specialty courts — mental health and drug treatment streams that resolve eligible cases through treatment rather than punishment.
The building runs on volume. Security screening at the entrance backs up before the 9:00 a.m. sittings — arrive thirty minutes early minimum. Courtrooms are numbered by floor; monitors in the lobby display the daily lists. Duty counsel offices, Legal Aid, and interview rooms operate on-site.
361 University: Superior Court
The Superior Court of Justice hears Toronto's most serious criminal business at 361 University Avenue: jury trials, judge-alone trials on serious indictable matters, and bail reviews from decisions made below. If your charge is murder, a major drug conspiracy, or any indictable matter where you have elected trial in Superior Court, this is where the trial happens — though your early appearances still run through the Ontario Court at Armoury Street first. The two buildings sit minutes apart, but they are different courts with different judges, procedures, and stakes; our overview of summary versus indictable offences explains the classification that decides which track a charge rides.
Which Court Hears Which Charges
The Ontario Court of Justice at Armoury Street handles: all bail hearings (except murder, where bail is decided in Superior Court); every first appearance and case-management step; trials of summary conviction offences and the many indictable offences within its jurisdiction; all youth matters; and guilty pleas across the spectrum. The Superior Court at 361 University handles: trials where the accused elects judge-and-jury or judge-alone in that court; exclusive-jurisdiction offences like murder; bail reviews; and appeals from summary matters. For the accused, the election — where one exists — is a strategic decision with real consequences for timing, procedure, and the factfinder, made with counsel after disclosure is reviewed.
Finding Your Courtroom & Date
Three reliable sources. First, your release paperwork — the appearance notice, undertaking, or release order states the courthouse address, courtroom, date and time. Second, the daily court lists — posted on the Ontario courts' online docket and on lobby monitors each morning; search by name to confirm the room. Third, your lawyer, who receives scheduling communications and often appears for you: for many case-management appearances, a designated counsel can attend without you, which is one of the quiet quality-of-life benefits of being represented.
Two cautions. Courtrooms change — the room on paper months ago may not be the room the morning of, so check the list on arrival. And virtual appearances remain common for routine steps: whether you attend by video or in person is set by the court, not by preference, so confirm the mode in advance rather than assuming.
Inside the Building: What to Expect
For a first-timer, the machine matters more than the marble. Expect airport-style security; no photography anywhere; phones silenced in court. Dockets run long — a 9:00 a.m. court time means the list starts at 9:00, not your case — so budget the morning. Dress does not decide cases, but neat and plain reads as respect. When your name is called, you stand, identify yourself, and let counsel or duty counsel speak; nothing substantive about your case should ever be argued by you personally at a routine appearance. Interview rooms let you consult duty counsel before court if you are unrepresented — arrive early enough to use them. Everything about the day is easier when someone who does this daily is standing beside you, which is precisely the service our Toronto criminal defence team provides from first appearance to verdict.
Virtual court is now a permanent layer over the physical buildings, and knowing which appearances happen where saves wasted mornings. Routine early appearances and case-management dates commonly proceed by video — counsel frequently appear remotely, and a represented accused often need not attend at all — while substantive steps (pleas, preliminary hearings, trials, sentencing) default to in-person unless the court directs otherwise. The governing document is always your own paperwork and the court's notice: the mode listed there binds, and “I thought it was on Zoom” has become the modern version of going to the wrong courthouse — with the same bench-warrant risk. If you are self-represented and unsure, call the courthouse or ask duty counsel before the date; if you have counsel, confirm each appearance's mode and whether your personal attendance is required, not assumed.
How a Case Moves Between Courts
A typical Toronto case arcs like this: arrest, then either police release or a bail court appearance at Armoury Street within 24 hours; a first appearance weeks later where disclosure is requested; a sequence of case-management appearances while disclosure is completed and Crown pre-trials happen; then the fork — resolution (withdrawal, diversion, peace bond, or plea) in the Ontario Court, or a trial date there, or, for eligible indictable charges, election and committal up to the Superior Court at 361 University. The rhythm is measured in weeks between appearances and months between milestones — our criminal case timeline calculator maps the stages, and our article on how long criminal cases take sets honest expectations, including the Jordan ceilings that cap delay.
Both buildings also house the support infrastructure most first-timers don't know exists until someone points. Duty counsel offices provide free, same-day legal help to unrepresented accused on the ordinary court floors; Legal Aid Ontario staff can start certificate applications; court-based mental health workers connect eligible accused to diversion streams; victim/witness services support complainants and witnesses through testimony; and interpreters in dozens of languages are arranged through the court for accused persons and witnesses who need them — ask at your first appearance, not your trial. None of these services find you automatically. The people who have the easiest path through 10 Armoury Street are the ones who asked the counter, the duty counsel office, or their own lawyer what help the building offers — usually in the first week, not the fifth month.
Courthouse Mistakes That Cost People
The recurring, avoidable ones: going to a legacy courthouse from old paperwork or old internet advice and missing court — a bench warrant issues just the same; arriving at 9:00 for a 9:00 court and clearing security at 9:40; attending in person when the appearance was virtual, or vice versa; bringing prohibited items that security seizes; and — the big one — treating routine appearances as optional because “nothing happens.” Nothing happens because everyone appears; the moment you do not, something very much happens, as our article on missing a court date details. The system forgives almost any confusion except absence.
If you have been charged in Toronto, the courthouse question answers itself with one document and one phone call. What deserves your energy is everything after the address: disclosure, strategy, and the resolution paths — from diversion to trial — that decide how this ends. Start both with a free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most Toronto criminal matters are heard at the Toronto Courthouse, 10 Armoury Street — the consolidated Ontario Court of Justice criminal courthouse behind Osgoode Hall. Superior Court criminal matters, including jury trials and the most serious charges, are heard at 361 University Avenue.
The Ontario Court of Justice criminal operations that made Old City Hall famous were consolidated into the Toronto Courthouse at 10 Armoury Street, along with the caseloads of College Park, the Finch and Eglinton courthouses, and the Jarvis Street youth court. Recent charges proceed at Armoury Street — check your paperwork rather than old internet references.
Your release papers (appearance notice, undertaking, or release order) state the courthouse, room, date and time. Confirm the morning of on the online daily court lists or the lobby monitors, since rooms change. If you are represented, your lawyer tracks scheduling and often appears for you at routine dates.
The Ontario Court of Justice (Armoury Street) handles bail, first appearances, case management, youth matters, and trials of summary and many indictable offences. The Superior Court (361 University) hears jury trials, judge-alone trials on elected indictable matters, exclusive charges like murder, and bail reviews. Which court tries your charge depends on its classification and your election.
At least thirty minutes before your court time. Security screening at 10 Armoury Street backs up before the 9:00 a.m. sittings, and a docket court time is when the list starts — not your individual slot. Late arrival risks your name being called in your absence.
Routine case-management appearances are frequently virtual, but the mode is set by the court and your release conditions — not personal preference. Confirm in advance whether your appearance is in person or remote; attending the wrong way can count as a failure to appear.
Youth matters under the Youth Criminal Justice Act are heard in dedicated youth courts within the Toronto Courthouse at 10 Armoury Street, which absorbed the former 311 Jarvis youth court. Youth proceedings carry automatic publication bans and their own procedural protections.
If your name is called and you are not there, a bench warrant can issue — the court does not distinguish between absence and honest confusion in the moment. If you realize the error, get to the right building or contact duty counsel/your lawyer immediately; prompt action usually lets the matter be spoken to the same day.
Not necessarily. With a designation on file, your lawyer can attend most routine case-management appearances without you, and many are virtual. Bail hearings, pleas, trials, and sentencing require your attendance. Never skip a date on your own judgment — confirm with counsel what your presence requirements are.
Bail hearings run in dedicated bail courts at 10 Armoury Street, typically within 24 hours of arrest — except murder and a few other charges, where bail is decided by the Superior Court. If bail is denied, a bail review in Superior Court at 361 University is the next step.