Criminal Defence Law

We defend clients charged with assault causing bodily harm under the Criminal Code, where the Crown alleges an assault resulted in an injury that is more than fleeting. Our lawyers examine the reliability of the injury evidence, the availability of self-defence, and whether the alleged force was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. How the incident is reconstructed from the available evidence often determines whether the charge holds or falls away.

We defend aggravated assault charges, the most serious form of assault, where the Crown alleges the complainant was wounded, maimed, disfigured, or their life endangered. Our lawyers scrutinize the medical evidence and the identification of the accused, since the severity these charges carry demands the closest examination of proof. A serious allegation is not the same as a proven one, and we hold the Crown to its burden at every step.

We defend clients charged with an offence arising from a domestic relationship, matters the Crown and the courts treat with particular seriousness and specific release conditions. Our lawyers address the no-contact and other bail conditions that disrupt a client's home and family immediately, alongside defending the underlying charge itself. Managing the conditions and the charge together is essential, because the conditions affect a client's life long before the case is resolved.

We defend uttering threats charges, where the Crown must prove that words or conduct conveyed a genuine threat and were meant to be taken seriously. Our lawyers examine the full context in which the words were said, since tone, relationship, and circumstance frequently change what a statement actually meant. Words spoken in anger or frustration are not automatically a criminal threat, and that distinction is often where the defence lives.

We defend possession for the purpose of trafficking charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, where the Crown seeks to prove an intention to traffic from the quantity and surrounding circumstances. Our lawyers challenge the inference of intent and, critically, the lawfulness of the search that produced the drugs. Where the search breached the Charter, the evidence central to the charge can be excluded entirely.

We defend trafficking and importing charges, serious indictable offences that can carry significant penalties on conviction. Our lawyers examine the reliability of any confidential informant, the conduct of the investigation, and the strength of the Crown's proof connecting the accused to the substance. The complexity of these investigations frequently creates the openings on which a strong defence is built.

We defend charges arising under the Cannabis Act, including allegations of distribution or possession beyond the limits the legislation permits. Our lawyers clarify where lawful possession ends and an offence begins, a line many people do not realize they have crossed. Understanding exactly what the Act allows is often the first step in showing that no offence actually occurred.

We defend clients charged with sexual assault, among the most serious allegations a person can face, with the reputational and liberty consequences that accompany them. Our lawyers approach these files with rigour and discretion, examining consent, reliability, and the specific evidentiary rules that govern how a complainant's history may be used at trial. A charge of this gravity demands a defence prepared with corresponding care, and we provide it.

We defend charges involving alleged online offences, including matters that turn heavily on digital evidence and the lawfulness of how devices and data were seized. Our lawyers work with the technical record and the search authority behind it, since these cases frequently rise or fall on whether the electronic evidence was lawfully obtained. Challenging the foundation of the digital evidence is often the most important work in the file.

We defend fraud over $5,000 charges, where the Crown must prove both a dishonest act and a resulting deprivation or risk of deprivation. Our lawyers work through the documentary record these cases depend on, since fraud allegations are proven or disproven on the paper trail more than on testimony. A transaction that looks improper on its surface often has an innocent explanation the full record supports.

We defend identity theft and cybercrime charges, allegations that rely on electronic evidence and on linking a specific person to online conduct. Our lawyers test how that connection was established and whether the digital evidence was lawfully obtained and reliably attributed. Proving who was actually behind a device or an account is frequently harder than the Crown's theory assumes.

We defend money laundering charges, complex financial matters where the Crown must prove knowledge that funds were the proceeds of crime. Our lawyers examine the financial evidence and the inference of knowledge the Crown asks the court to draw. The presence of funds is not proof of a guilty mind, and separating the two is central to the defence.

We defend theft charges at both threshold levels, where the amount alleged determines how the offence proceeds and the penalties it carries. Our lawyers assess the proof of intent and the strength of the identification of the accused. For a first allegation in particular, the right approach can protect a client from a record that would follow them for years.

We defend break and enter and robbery charges, serious offences the courts treat accordingly, particularly where violence or a weapon is alleged. Our lawyers examine the identification evidence and the Crown's proof of each element the offence requires. These charges carry serious exposure, and we prepare them with the seriousness that exposure demands.

We defend mischief and property damage charges, where the Crown alleges the wilful destruction or interference with property. Our lawyers examine whether the conduct was intentional and whether the accused was correctly identified as responsible. What is charged as mischief is sometimes an accident or a misunderstanding, and the defence begins with establishing that.

We appear at bail hearings to secure a client's release on the least restrictive conditions the circumstances allow, an urgent step that shapes everything that follows. Our lawyers prepare the release plan and address the reverse onus that now applies to a growing list of offences, where the accused, not the Crown, must justify release. Getting a client home on workable conditions is frequently the most immediately important result in a case.

We bring Charter applications to exclude evidence and to remedy breaches of a client's constitutional rights, including unreasonable search under section 8, denial of the right to counsel under section 10, and unreasonable trial delay under section 11. Our lawyers identify these breaches in the disclosure and argue them before the court. A successful Charter application can exclude the very evidence the Crown's case depends on.

We conduct criminal trials in the Provincial Court and the Supreme Court of British Columbia, cross-examining the Crown's witnesses and holding the prosecution to its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Our lawyers prepare each trial thoroughly, because thorough preparation is what creates the reasonable doubt an acquittal requires. A case taken seriously from the outset is a case the Crown must genuinely prove.

We advise on and conduct appeals from a conviction or sentence, assessing candidly whether a legal error or an unreasonable verdict gives real grounds to appeal. Our lawyers review the trial record and the reasons for judgment before a client commits to the cost of an appeal. Not every unfavourable result should be appealed, and we say so plainly when the record does not support it.

We assist clients in applying for a record suspension, formerly called a pardon, to remove the barrier a criminal record creates to employment, travel, and daily life. Our lawyers confirm eligibility and prepare the application so it is accepted without avoidable delay. Clearing a record is often the final step that lets a person fully move on from a matter long since resolved.