R. v. A.A.

(Calgary Court of Justice - Causing a Disturbance/Obstruction). The lesson from AA's case is that sometimes ordinary, hard-working people can have a bad day that results in criminal charges. In this case, AA was charged with causing a disturbance for making comments to a neighbour who was moving from the next-door house. There had been a longstanding feud between these parties. When police arrived, AA was sitting on a chair on the driveway. AA was under the influence of alcohol. AA did not cooperate with police; pressing rather that they should get off the property.  The situation escalated.

AA was a person without a prior criminal record, healthy employment and had an indigenous background. This was AA's first interaction with the criminal justice system. While AA had defences to both charges that had a good possibility of being successful at trial, the case was not one that required AA to shoulder the stress and financial consequences of a trial. The prosecutor's office quickly resolved AA's situation by way of Alternative Measures. AA ultimately completed the reasonable terms of the program and the charges were withdrawn. The benefit of this type of case is that AA did not have to pay a Calgary criminal lawyer trial fees, which can get rather expensive. The other benefit is that AA was able to quickly reduce the stress, avoid a criminal record and ensure that there were no employment consequences. 

While many cases do not require the accused to hire a criminal defence lawyer, some people (like AA) prefer to have a person with knowledge and experience navigating the criminal justice system on their side. AA's case was one that David Chow was able to handle by way of affordable fees. David always assesses the case and will often heavily discount legal fees (including the initial retainer) if the case is relatively straightforward. Criminal defence lawyers can help traverse a confusing justice system. For many, that service alone is worth the investment in their defence lawyer of choice.