R. v. D.R.D.

(Red Deer, P.C. - Assault with a Weapon). DD was charged with assault arising from an incident in a Red Deer parking lot. The assault arose when DD allegedly brandished a shovel at another person who became involved after some harsh words were expressed. DD never struck the other person -- no contact was ever made. In the view of the Defence, the complainant was arguably responsible for triggering the incident and since DD did not in any way make contact with the complainant, the Prosecution could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The defence was of the view that self defence applied. When DD brandished the shovel, the other party ran away. 

Criminal law has nuances. Assault is defined as any intentional non-consensual touching, direct or indirect, of another. Criminal law also recognizes "attempt". Pursuant to section 24(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada and attempt defined as "every one who, having an intent to commit an offence, does or omits to do anything for the purpose of carrying out the intention is guilty of an attempt to commit the offence, whether or not was possible under the circumstances to commit the offence". 

DD's Alberta Criminal defence lawyer tried to resolve the case, but unfortunately, the resolution position first offered by the Crown as, in the opinion of DD's lawyer, unreasonable. As a result, DD entered a plea of "not guilty" and the case was scheduled for trial.  As trial neared, the Prosecution's resolution position considerably softened -- they offered to resolve the case by way of a "conditional discharge". Since the conditional discharge would not result in a permanent criminal record, DD made the choice to accept the offer. Like so many accused, DD made this choice even though there were viable defences. DD's criminal lawyer left the decision to accept the plea bargain completely in the hands of the accused. 

David Chow is a criminal defence lawyer with offices in both Calgary and Cochrane. Though David Chow operates primarily in Calgary and Cochrane, he is a full service Alberta criminal lawyer who appears throughout the Province.