R. v. J.E.E.

(Alberta Court of Justice, Calgary - Domestic Assault/Unlawful Confinement). Where the Criminal Code of Canada recognizes several different categories of assault (such as assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, assault peace officer, aggravated assault and sexual assault), the common law also recognizes a category of assault known as domestic assault and intimate partner violence. Courtroom 508 in Calgary is one of the City's busiest courtrooms; often hearing hundreds of cases every day, usually involving dozens of accused.  Due to the sheer number of domestic violence cases, placing a significant burden on judicial and prosecutorial resources, along with the fact that many domestic assault allegations are challenging to prove for a variety of reasons, it is not unusual for experienced criminal defence lawyers in Calgary and throughout Alberta, to be able to successfully defend their clients without the case progressing to trial. JE's case was one of these instances.

JE was charged with assault and unlawful confinement. Unlawful confinement is a Criminal Code offence that essentially alleges that the accused trapped the complainant, preventing that person from freely leaving the space where the confinement occurred. It is not unusual for unlawful confinement to be charged in circumstances where the accused merely stood in front of a door or in situations where the complainant had a different exit path other than the single route that the accused was allegedly occupying. While JE had challenges with respect to a minor assault allegation, there was no reasonable prospect of conviction with respect to the unlawful confinement. 

The case involving JE was further challenged because of the complainant's lack of cooperation with the prosecution. 

As a result, JE's case was properly and favourably resolved by way of a peace bond and the withdrawal of the charges. A "peace bond" is a kind of resolution option that requires Crown consent. Peace bond is a court order than can be imposed if the judge is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused may breach the public peace in the future or where the complainant expresses a fear for safety. It is important to note that peace bond can be triggered in the absence of proof of any criminal wrongdoing (to a criminal standard of proof). Peace Bond and withdrawal of charges is a non-criminal record disposition. 

Many of this Calgary criminal lawyer's clients are concerned that a peace bond is a criminal record. The short answer is that a peace bond is not a "criminal record" but it does trigger a police record that could be made available in certain instances. For example, international border services agents (such as the United States Border Services) has access to police records and can likely see whether a Canadian traveller attempting to cross the U.S. border is under the terms of a peace bond or has in the past been subject to peace bond. Peace bond is not an automatic impediment to travel, but since border service agents have wide discretion to permit entry into the foreign country, any police record or court record may impact  a travellers entry assessment. Keep in mind, even that the fact a person has merely been "charged" is information that is likely in possession of border service agents, and in particular, United States Border Services. When it comes to information, it is best for everyone to understand that in today's AI driven data age, information transmission is ubiquitous. 

Experienced criminal defence lawyers in Alberta understand that there are no guarantees in the privacy of a criminal charge. While a criminal record is a kind of record that is much more easily available for public consumption (by way of a mere criminal record check), any record created by police may be accessible by somebody -- perhaps not the general public, but it is highly likely that every police record is open for inspection by border services, military, law enforcement and intelligence Agencies.  Regardless of ubiquitous information sharing to certain agencies, it is nevertheless critical that every accused do everything possible to resist the imposition of a criminal record. A criminal record is very likely to be a permanent deep scar on a person's reputation.  Remember, police and prosecution services only require reasonable grounds to lay a criminal charge. it is better for everybody if that criminal charge reflects as "not guilty". It doesn't matter whether that "not guilty" reflection is by way of "withdrawal", "stay" or "acquittal" -- "not guilty" is always "not guilty". Peace bonds are not a reflection of guilt of anything; rather, they only reflect a basis to believe a future concern.  The best criminal defence lawyers in Calgary will pursue non-criminal record outcomes with their client's financial interests in mind. David Chow has been a Calgary criminal lawyer for nearly two-decades. He has significant prosecutorial experience and has been a full time practicing criminal defence lawyer since 2005.