Facing criminal or penal charges is always a great source of insecurity and uncertainty. Indeed, the consequences of such charges may be decisive for the freedom, reputation and future employment opportunities of the accused, whether individuals or corporations. Regardless of the type of offence of which you are accused, our criminal and penal law team will help you to resolve your case swiftly, efficiently and economically to have you suffer the least possible consequences. We will see to defending all of your rights and make sure that your constitutional rights pursuant to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are protected, including your rights to liberty and the presumption of innocence.
You can count on the experience of our lawyers who have pleaded cases before of all the different judicial bodies. Three of them have repeatedly pleaded jury cases of different natures:
- Economic crimes(theft, possession of stolen goods, fraud)
- Crimes of a sexual nature(sexual assault, solicitation, child pornography)
- Drug-related offences(possession, production, trafficking)
- Violent and other crimes(assault, threats, harassment)
- Prison law (conditional release, disciplinary sanction, transfer)
- Youth court – Young offenders
- Penal offences(municipal, provincial and federal laws)
- Offences related to the Highway Code
- Obstruction of or resistance to a peace officer
- Impaired driving
- Tax delinquency
- Smuggling of cigarettes and tobacco products
Our criminal and penal law services include legal consultations and opinions, thorough and efficient case analyses, and preparation and performance of legal acts before the Court, whether in the case of a first accusation, multiple accusations, a repeat offence, an application for conditional release or a pardon application. We can also assist and advise witnesses in criminal or penal cases as well as provide advice to victims seeking to file complaints with law enforcement authorities.
In a criminal trial, the accused benefits from the presumption of innocence, which represents a true cornerstone of our criminal justice system. Consequently, the onus is on the prosecution to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the accused did indeed commit the offence that he or she is charged of having committed. Unconvincing evidence may lead to the acquittal of the accused and that is why it is important to protect the accused from self-incrimination and contact a lawyer as quickly as possible after an arrest. Indeed, statements that an accused may make to the police may weigh heavily on the fate of the accused at trial.
The accused also has the right to be informed of the evidence filed against him or her. Sometimes, the court rules relating to full disclosure of the evidence are complex and an experienced legal expert capable of handling the case with assurance can make the difference and have his or her client benefit from a full defence.
We take defending you seriously and take all available means to do so: extensive analysis of the facts, extensive knowledge of the rules of evidence and identification of possible violations of your fundamental rights. These means have our clients benefit from all possible favourable measures: stays of proceedings, mistrials, exclusions of evidence, remedial instructions (trial jury), monetary remedies, reduced sentences, etc.