June 22 - 26

Student Gets Invite to Judge's Chambers

On June 23rd Korie Pringle appeared before Judge Harvey and defended her client who had been charged with spousal assault. Korie argued that the witnesses for the crown should not be believed as they had collaborated with the complainant when giving their statements. The Judge found that there were sufficient inconsistencies in the witnesses testimony to indicate that they had not collaborated. There was only one witness for the defence, the accused, whose testimony was not as strong as it could have been, due to nervousness. Judge Harvey convicted the accused and gave him a conditional discharge with 18 months probation. After the trial Judge Harvey invited both counsel to her chambers to offer some comments (mostly positive) about the trial. Well done Korie!

"Surprise" Does Not Equal "Crisis"

Gregg Horne represented his client at a B.C. Benefits Tribunal on June 24th. The client had applied for a crisis grant to pay for 2 months of hydro bills. The client claimed she thought that Hydro was included in her rent. The application was denied by the Ministry. On appeal, the Tribunal upheld the Ministry's decision and stated that regular hydro expenses do not qualify as a "crisis" situation even if they were unexpected.

Deal Making 101

On June 24th Scott Stenbeck was prepared to defend his client on charges of impaired driving and >.08. Moments before the trial was scheduled to begin Scott spoke to Crown counsel and indicated that they might have a difficulty with their case relating to a "last drink" defence. Initially the Crown Counsel was still prepared to proceed to trial but then approached Scott to discuss a possible plea to s.144 of the Motor Vehicle Act instead with a fine and 6 months driving prohibition. Scott stated that his client only wanted a 3 month prohibition and the Crown counter offered with 4 months which was acceptable to the client. The client also received a fine of $200.

Extra Effort Pays Off

Mara Bains did an excellent job this week in obtaining a conditional discharge for her client who had been charged with spousal assault. The client did not speak English and an interpreter had to be used during the sentencing. Mara was well-prepared and had researched the effect that a criminal record for assault would have on her client's employment (he already had a record for impaired driving). She also provided the Judge with information concerning her client's willingness to receive counselling and on the availability of a counsellor who speaks Punjabi.

The Old Switch-A-Roo

John Horsfield defended his client at trial on June 25th. The client had been charged with impaired driving and >.08. The client insisted that he was not driving, rather, he had switched places with the driver after being pulled over by the police. The switch took place at the insistence of the real driver who had just spent 45 days in jail for a similar offence and did not want a further charge. John further argued that even though the client was found in the driver's seat, he did not have care and control of the vehicle. The Judge did not rule on this issue as she did not believe the client' story and found him guilty on the basis that he had been the driver all along. The client received a $300 fine, 3 months probation, 70 hours of community service, and a driving prohibition for 12 months.

Deal Making 101b

Michael Murphy entered into last minute negotiations with the Crown on behalf of his client who had been charged with assault. The matter was set for trial on June 25th but proceeded by way of a guilty plea inste

Page Last edited: 2008-09-16 21:47