R. v. R.B.B.

(Strathmore Court of Justice - Assault Causing Bodily Harm). The accused initially pled "not guilty" and scheduled this case for trial. The prosecution was managing charges where the accused allegedly injured a domestic partner with a knife. Based on a review of the disclosure (the evidence), the case appeared strong, but like so many prosecutions, there were a plethora of issues that the defence viewed as causing impediments to the Crown's ability to ultimately secure a conviction. One such issue concerned the complainant -- who had no desire to see the accused prosecuted.  As the trial neared, the defence was able to have a more fulsome conversation with the Crown -- a conversation that ultimately resulted in the prosecutor offering a plea bargain that the accused would have been foolish to reject. 

The offer to resolve was by way of a "conditional discharge".  The conditions serving the discharge embraced the rehabilitative aspects of sentencing. A "conditional discharge" is a sentence imposed by a Court that confirms "guilt" of the offence, but does not see the accused shoulder a permanent criminal record. In short, if the accused satisfies the "conditions" of the discharge -- managed by way of probation order -- the discharge becomes absolute and the conviction will not permanently remain on the accused's criminal record. In this case, the resolution offer was very good because it helped the accused avoid potentially much more serious penal consequences, but also recognized the unique individualized characteristics of the accused, who not only had a defence to the case, but also suffered from some mental illness arising from service to Canada. 

It is not unusual for people considering resolution by conditional discharge -- or pursuing it as a resolution option -- to wonder about the impact of the discharge entry on their public record, police record and immigration status. It is important to understand that a conditional discharge is an entry on a public criminal record -- albeit, if the conditions are satisfied, a temporary entry. A conditional discharge will theoretically disappear from the accused's criminal record after three years have passed from the date the discharge was granted and only if the accused has met the conditions imposed by the Court. I say "theoretically" because for better or worse, as a result of easy and ubiquitous information sharing that often relies on the integrity of the agency responding to information requests, this Calgary criminal lawyer is aware of many complaints where people have expressed real concerns that public officials have improperly shared conditional discharge data where they ought not to have done so. Also, it is important to remember that while a conditional discharge is, after the passage of time (3 years), theoretically not available for public consumption, border agencies -- such as United States Border Services -- are almost certainly in possession of this information.  Once a foreign country has information, there is no jurisdiction in Canada to force the foreign jurisdiction to purge records for which they have come into possession.

Regardless of the concerns about the ubiquitous collection and sharing of information, conditional discharge is often a very favourable resolution option.  It was so for RBB.

There are presently a lot of Calgary criminal lawyers to choose from. In making your choice of defence lawyer, it is strongly encouraged that you do all due diligence. While there may be a lot of lawyers advertising services, not all of them are necessarily a good choice to defend your case. The only way you can determine if a criminal defence lawyer is right for you is not to make your choice too hastily. Take time to speak with a number of lawyers before making your decision. While David Chow runs a business and wants you to hire him in no way diminishes the fact that you should not hire any lawyer (even David Chow) in absence of doing everything you can to make an informed choice. Most criminal lawyers in Calgary offer a free telephone consultation. Take advantage of this option where it is available. If a criminal lawyer is not offering a short free telephone consultation, David Chow recommends that you take your business elsewhere because if the lawyer is not offering the option for you to make a choice without taking your money first, then there is a reasonable prospect that the lawyer is trying to hook you in based upon the early fee commitment and not on his or her legal acumen and strategic acumen.  Here are some tips to help you choose wisely.