R. v. H.A.H.

(Calgary Y.C.). David Chow is a not only a Calgary criminal lawyer who handles adult charges, he is a full service Calgary defence lawyer who defends young persons charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. As a full service defence lawyer, David defends all Criminal Code offences and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act charges. In this case, the young person was charged with simple assault arising from a fight between two youths. What is important to remember about Canada's young offender's legislation is that it is not only balanced in favour of rehabilitation -- for we do not want to subject young people to the deleterious consequences of imprisonment -- it has a range of non-criminal record alternatives that may be used to address the young person under charge.  For example, police have the option to sanction a young person without exposing them to court. A sanction would not result in a criminal record.  In court, judges have the option to judicially reprimand the young person. This option also would not result in a criminal record. Similar to the adult Alternative Measures Program, young persons may be admitted into a similar program called Extra Judicial Sanctions. In this case, the assault allegation and the facts in support of it fell clearly into the kind of situation whereby Extra Judicial Sanctions was appropriate. H.A.H.'s Calgary criminal lawyer managed to obtain access to this program as part of a plea resolution. This was touch-and-go because the first Crown rejected the accused's request even though no disclosure was available for review.  A different Crown properly agreed to H.A.H.'s participation in the program. This accused attended every court appearance on his own and successfully completed the program well within its time requirements. As a result, the charges were withdrawn.  There are many Calgary criminal lawyers -- it is your responsibility to be duly diligent in choosing your defence lawyer. Call David Chow for a free consultation.