R. v. G.C.

(Court of Justice, Calgary - Resist Arrest/Obstruction/Assault Peace Officer). GC was charged with a variety of offences arising from a routine traffic stop related to not signalling at a turn. In this case, the accused -- who had a language barrier -- was quite upset because the accused did not agree with the officer's assertion that the signal light was no engaged. This accused also had some medical issues.  After the officer issued the ticket, there were words exchanged between the parties that ended with the officer being told that the accused needed a moment to gather him/herself before driving. The officer commanded the accused to leave the scene. When the accused sat for a few seconds, the officer then approached the accused to speak, at which time the accused started to drive away. The officer conducted another traffic stop of the accused and arrested for obstruction. The accused -- who was a senior citizen -- was treated rather aggressively.

While the defence position was that the accused had a very strong defence to all charges, which undoubtedly would have triggered allegations under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, GC's Calgary criminal lawyer worked with the Crown to resolve the case by way of Alternative Measures (AMP). The accused ultimately completed the program and the charges were withdrawn. In light of the nature of the allegations, this was a very reasonably outcome, for there was little doubt that even though the accused had strong defences, the accused bore "responsibility" for the interaction. The benefit of the AMP outcome was that it guaranteed the charges were withdrawn, that there was no criminal record and the resolution saved GC the financial hardship of additional and costly trial fees. 

The best criminal defence lawyers in Calgary understand that even though trial is an option, that exploring all avenues to successfully resolve a case is very important. In the opinion of this Calgary criminal lawyer, it is sometimes reckless for defence lawyers to encourage clients to move directly to trial without exploring all resolution options because our criminal justice system is a human system, where outcomes for even the most obvious cases are by no means guaranteed. Also, preliminary inquiries and trials add substantial cost to the client. These costs should only be incurred where necessary. Alternative Measures is often a very cost friendly option that can guarantee no criminal record.