Month: September 2014

Police officers must follow proper procedure when gathering evidence to obtain a search warrant. A mistake at any point in the process could later result in evidence being thrown out. Often such mistakes are unintentional, but occasionally police officers are found to have brazenly broken the law in the pursuit of criminal charges. Recently, an Ontario judge threw out the evidence against a convenience store employee who was charged with weapons possession and drug trafficking. An informant reportedly tipped off police that illegal drug transactions had taken place where the employee worked. A drug squad officer went to the store…

When a driver is stopped under suspicion of impaired driving, the police officer will probably conduct a battery of tests to determine whether the driver is indeed impaired. However, testing sobriety can be very subjective. For example, the methods of sobriety testing are often applied alongside cold, dark and busy roadways, where an officer's ability to determine whether a person is intoxicated may be compromised by the physical conditions of the scene. In other cases, a physical ailment such as arthritis -- and not impairment by drug or alcohol -- may render a driver unable to perform a sobriety test…

Being convicted of a sex-related offence in Ontario can not only result in a jail sentence; individuals convicted of sex crimes often face employment difficulties and long-term reputation damage. For example, a medical professional accused of a sex offence could face additional restrictions under the Regulated Health Professions Act. A 53-year-old doctor in Mississauga is in this situation after admitting that, between 2005 and 2011, he sexually abused as many as 13 female patients by placing either his cheek or mouth on the women's breasts. While he has been allowed to practice medicine again after an eight-month licence suspension, the College of…

Whether you are facing the relatively minor charge of marijuana possession or the very serious charge of drug trafficking, you will need an effective criminal defence strategy to protect your rights and freedom. With any type of drug charge, you can expect prosecutors to aggressively pursue a conviction and ask the court to impose a jail sentence. Criminal defence lawyers at Neuberger & Partners LLP work to protect accused individuals' rights by investigating the facts of each case and developing sophisticated strategies to minimize any negative outcomes. Often the individuals accused of drug offences have committed no violent acts, but the penalties…

Historical allegations of sexual assault are taken very seriously by Canadian courts. If the accused individual was in a position of authority at the time of an alleged offence, then the Crown may seek particularly harsh penalties in an effort to send a message to the community. A former high school teacher in Quebec was recently sentenced to 20 months in jail after being found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. The relationship allegedly started in 2002 and lasted two years. Specifically, the former teacher was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation and one count…

Developing a thorough defence against criminal charges is an in-depth, complex process that requires the help of an experienced criminal defence lawyer. Matters can become significantly more complicated, however, if there is the potential that multiple jurisdictions will be involved. If you are facing the possibility of being extradited from Canada to face criminal charges in another country, then it is important that you take action to protect your rights as soon as possible. If authorities in another country suspect that an individual in Canada has committed a crime, then the other country can ask Canadian authorities to surrender that…

Sexual assault allegations arise from a wide variety of circumstances. As we discussed in a recent post, a sexual assault charge does not have to be based on an allegation of extreme violence. A person can face very serious consequences after being accused of groping or otherwise inappropriately touching another person. That is the accusation against a student who was recently arrested in Ottawa. Police were called to Carleton University after a woman told campus security that she had been inappropriately touched by a man in an elevator, and security guards detained a 26-year-old man until police arrived. Further investigation led to…

Canadians are protected from unreasonable search and seizure because they are legally afforded a reasonable expectation of privacy. However, that expectation has come into question after a recent decision by the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The case involves a man who received and opened a package that contained drugs. The police already knew the package contained drugs, however, because an employee of the courier company thought the sender looked suspicious. The employee opened the package, found the drugs and notified police, who then conducted a "controlled delivery" to the recipient. The contract between the sender and the courier company,…

People who find themselves facing drinking and driving charges come from all walks of life. Under Canadian law, drivers are prohibited from having a blood-alcohol level that exceeds 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, and depending on an individual's body weight and metabolism, not much alcohol is required to exceed that limit. Consider the case of Olympic champion Donovan Bailey. The sprinter recently pleaded guilty to driving over 80 in connection with a traffic incident in March 2012. In court, it was explained to the Crown that Bailey had attended a wine tasting event, and according to an agreed…