A Criminal Lawyer has Opportunities for a Successful Defence against Criminal Charges

(prHWY.com) May 20, 2012 - Toronto, Canada -- Toronto, ON - http://steventress.com/criminal-lawyer/ discusses a number of opportunities that a Criminal Lawyer has to successfully defending those charged with serious Indictable Offences.

Steven Tress, an experienced Defence Lawyer in Toronto and author of "The Advantage of Retaining a Criminal Lawyer", recently stated, "Changes in Canadian Criminal Law, such as the imposition of minimum sentences for serious crimes, has highlighted the need of of hiring an experienced Criminal Lawyer."

Steven discusses the often missed opportunities to successfully dispose of serious indictable offences:

The first step in a criminal proceeding is the disclosure that the Crown must provide of all relevant evidence against an accused person. Often, this disclosure is incomplete; however, it takes experience to recognize what's missing and persistence in requesting the materials that are missing. Sometimes, the police do not want to reveal all the evidence because of many factors: overlap with an ongoing investigation, confidentiality of police investigative strategies and, sometimes, the desire to hold on to some evidence that they feel will weaken their case. If a defence lawyer discovers that relevant evidence is being delayed or withheld, an argument can be made that this violates the Constitutional right to a fair trial.

Once full disclosure is provided, the next step in a criminal proceeding is what is termed as a "Crown Pre-Trial". Essentially, this is a private meeting between the Crown and the Criminal Defence Lawyer. Many issues are discussed and an experienced Criminal Lawyer may be in a position to argue that the Crown does not have enough evidence to proceed to trial. If the Crown is persuaded, the charges may be withdrawn at that point.

A Judicial Pre-Trial is a meeting held privately with a Judge, the Crown Attorney and Defence Counsel. Although the main purpose of this meeting is to narrow the issues and determine the length of the trial, an experienced Criminal Lawyer, once again, may be in a position to persuade the Crown, in the presence of a Judge who might agree, that the evidence against the accused is too weak and a trial would be a waste of time. Sometimes, this may result in a withdrawal of charges, or a resolution may be offered that is acceptable to the accused.

In more serious criminal offences, a preliminary hearing is held to determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial. This is an opportunity to "punch holes" in the Crown's case through skilful cross-examination of witnesses. Arguments may be advanced by an experienced defence lawyer which may either weaken the Crown's case or result in a dismissal of charges. If the case does proceed to trial, the preliminary hearing is a good opportunity to flesh out all the evidence the Crown has, obtain discovery through cross-examination of Crown witnesses, and obtain a transcript of testimony that may be successfully used in further cross-examination at trial. The benefits of a preliminary hearing cannot be over-emphasised.

To learn more about how an experienced Criminal Lawyer in Toronto can successfully help people charged with serious indictable offences, visit http://steventress.com/criminal-lawyer/

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