R. v. Z.C.

(Calgary, Court of Justice - Mischief). This was a fairly minor property damage case alleged against an accused who had no prior criminal record. In order to mitigate the imposition of a criminal record on person's who might have just had a bad moment, Canada's criminal justice system is equipped with a few tools to respond more softly to minor criminal law infractions. Though it is possible for mischief to property to involve a lot of property damage and thus it can be quite serious, the reality is that most cases of mischief involve relatively minor property damage that can be remedied fairly quickly by the accused. Also, since many mischief cases are not particularly serious, it is not unusual for prosecution services to make use of diversion program, such as Alternative Measures, to response to these minor offences. The benefit of a diversion program is that if it is completed, the charges are withdrawn.  The taxpayer benefits from this as well because diversion programs are important tools that can seriously mitigate the costs to administration  of justice.  

ZC was charged with a very minor mischief.  While the Crown had a reasonable prospect of conviction, the defence also had a reasonable chance of securing a verdict of "not guilty". However, these complexities were avoided because ZC's Calgary criminal lawyer secured diversion through alternative measures (AMP). This not only saved ZC the risk of a criminal record but also saved ZC trial fees.

Calgary criminal lawyers will often try to resolve cases by way of Alternative Measures. While AMP is only available for minor criminal allegations, there are sometimes creative solutions to securing participation in the program.