CRIMINAL LAW

The fundamental principles of law such as the presumption of innocence and that ignorance of the law is no defence, are arguably the strongest canons of the Canadian legal system. Every individual has certain fundamental rights that are protected by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. While not all, some of these rights are: 

• the right not to be detained without good reason

• the right to be informed of your right to contact counsel and to be given an opportunity to exercise that right

• the right not to be subject to unreasonable search and seizure

• the right to be tried within a reasonable time

The Criminal Code is an extremely complex set of laws presenting a challenge even for lawyers to understand and to wade through during the course of a criminal trial. It is, next to the Income Tax Act, the longest of all federal laws. Practising in the area of criminal law requires constant devotion to keep abreast of the rapidly changing laws. To maintain currency, we have subscriptions to all major research materials, articles and databases. We are members of the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia and the Criminal Defence Litigation Group.

You should always exercise your right to call a Criminal Lawyer and if you cannot reach the criminal lawyer of your choice then you should speak to duty counsel at the number that the police will provide you with.