DEDICATED CRIMINAL DEFENCE LAWYER

An injury need not occur for an assault to be committed. The force used must be offensive in nature with an intention to apply force. Therefore, in certain circumstances, a “tap”, “pinch”, “push”, or other minor physical action can be considered an assault. An accidental application of force is NOT an assault.

You will likely need the help of your family and/or friends to attend court to act as a surety on your behalf. On some occasions, when the charges are less serious, bail can be arranged without the need for a surety.

The Crown Attorney will read in the allegations surrounding why the individual was charged. Oftentimes, the Court will then hear evidence from the potential surety (or sureties). The Crown will have an opportunity to ask the potential surety questions. The lawyer will then make submissions as to why the individual should be released from custody. The court will then decide whether or not the accused person should be released from jail while they await their trial. To release an individual from custody pending trial, the Court must be satisfied that the person charged with the crime(s) will attend court on all his/her court dates, will not commit any criminal offences while awaiting trial, and that the community would not be offended by the idea of a person charged with the specific offence(s) being released on bail. This last factor is generally considered when the offences are serious in nature. More often in today’s society, the onus is on the accused individual to convince the court that he/she should be released on bail pending trial. Under our current Conservative government, more and more offences are triggering the reverse onus provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada than ever before. For some offences, the Crown still has the burden of showing the court why the accused individual should stay in custody until their trial.

The type of sentence a person can receive for a weapon offence depends on a myriad of factors. Some weapon offences can carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. Others carry minimum sentences (which means that if the offence has a minimum sentence of one year, a judge must sentence an individual to at least one year in jail). Some of the factors considered include, but are not limited to: i)the type of weapon (for example, weapons such as knives or uncommon weapons will generally result in lighter sentences than firearms or explosives. ii)the manner in which the weapon was being possessed (was it simply in the person’s pocket or was it being held for everyone to see) iii)whether the person is convicted of possession, using the weapon, or possession for the purpose of trafficking or actually trafficking iv) the criminal record of the person found guilty v)the facts surrounding the case including whether there was a Charter violation Many firearm related offences have minimum sentences of three years and up depending on the firearm-related offence charged and whether the individual has any prior firearm related convictions.