R. v. M.A.

(Lethbridge, P.C.).  Client was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm.  This was a serious case involving a shooting in the City of Lethbridge, Alberta.  It was aggravated by information that the shooting was drug related. The case was scheduled for a preliminary inquiry.  A preliminary inquiry is essentially a procedure whereby an accused -- who is charged with serious offences -- can test the evidence as a part of a controlled discovery process prior to going to trial. The question at a preliminary inquiry is whether there is enough evidence such that a "reasonable jury, properly instructed, could convict".  Credibility is not an issue to be determined at a preliminary inquiry. MA's defence included "identification".  Identification is a particularly powerful defence even at preliminary inquiry because the test for a proper identification is correctness.  A judge can withdraw a case for consideration by a jury if the identification is weak. This is so because the frailties of eyewitness identification have long been recognized and the likelihood of wrongful conviction based on erroneous eye witness identification is high. After cross examination of witnesses at a preliminary inquiry, the Prosecutor was very concerned about the correctness of the identification and as result, the charges were "stayed".

David Chow is a full service Lethbridge criminal lawyer and Lethbridge firearms lawyer. For a free consultation call 403.452.8018.  Though David's main office is located in Calgary, he defends clients throughout the Province.  He is a proven Alberta criminal lawyer.