R. v. N.M.

(Calgary, P.C.).  Client faced charges of impaired driving and over 80.  Defence counsel assessed the likelihood of the accused successfully defending the charges as remote.  The accused decided to proceed with the trial in any event.  After the entire crown case was called, substantial Charter and Criminal Code issues arose which prompted the Crown to offer a plea bargain to a non-Criminal Code offence.  The accused did not receive a criminal record.  NM's case illustrates that if a client can afford to pay his or her Alberta DUI lawyer, it may be worth the economic cost of proceeding to trial. Trials in Calgary and other jurisdictions are uncertain for both the Defence and the Crown. Sometimes winning cases turn ugly, but more often than not, the advantage turns to the accused.  Hiring a criminal defence lawyer for any type of offence requires that the accused person does all due diligence to ensure that the right lawyer is retained. The right lawyer is a mix of being a capable litigator, a quality legal researched who has a refined understanding of the law and a personality who fits with his or her employer.  David Chow is a former Calgary Crown Prosecutor with the Office of the Attorney General of Alberta and a proven Calgary impaired driving lawyer, who defended his first DUI case as a law student in 1999.