Criminal Defence Law in Calgary: Part 1

Understanding the job of a Calgary criminal defence lawyer is easier said than done. The law is a complex animal, and the rules and procedures in place for the Calgary Police and Calgary area courts make it more complex still. Given the fact that most people will go their entire lives and never have any serious run-ins with either the police or the Calgary criminal justice system, it makes sense that criminal defence law is an area most people remain largely ignorant of, but that ignorance can lead to lots of stress and other problems when the unexpected occurs.

Real Criminal Defence Lawyers Aren't What You Might Think

Many television shows put defence lawyers in the position of criminal investigators, getting their wrongfully accused clients off the hook for murder by proving that someone else did the deed. Other depictions of defence lawyers make them out to be shady and underhanded hucksters who break the rules to get kingpins out of legal entanglements so they can continue running their billion-dollar criminal enterprises.

Neither of these scenarios is anywhere close to reality—at least, not according to the experience of this Calgary criminal defence lawyer and his colleagues. There are many defence cases where the facts are in dispute or the evidence is unclear, and a good defence lawyer will of course present these uncertainties in a way that demonstrates their client's innocence, but that almost never includes trying to convict someone else of the same crime.

There are also cases where the facts aren't in dispute at all, but where legal questions exist that can determine whether or not a crime was committed, or how serious an offence an action was and what response from the criminal justice system is warranted. A criminal defence lawyer's job, in Calgary and elsewhere, is to make sure their client's rights are respected, and that they get the best opportunity possible to retain—or quickly return to—a free and productive life.

This primary responsibility of a criminal defence lawyer—protecting the rights of all Calgary citizens charged with a crime—plays out in different ways in different cases, and in different phases of every criminal defence case. To help my defence clients and others interested in better understanding criminal defence law develop a clearer picture of what a criminal defence lawyer does, I'll be publishing a series of articles detailing each phase of a criminal defence case as it progresses from a charge laid by the Calgary Police or other law enforcement agency and through the Calgary courts. The more you know, the less stress you'll experience as your Calgary criminal defence case progresses.

Call a Calgary Criminal Defence Lawyer With Your Questions

I don't just provide information on my website—you can give me a call, too! If you're facing a criminal charge in the Calgary area and would like a free initial consultation with a defence lawyer, contact my office today to see how a lawyer can help you move forward with your life.