The criminal law sets the acceptable limits of conduct in society. Everyone is expected to obey the criminal law under penalty of punishment. The criminal law generally does not require you to perform an action; rather it forbids an unlawful action. Our criminal lawyers address charges including: Impaired Driving, Driving While Suspended, Drug Charges, Bail Applications, Trial Work in all Courts, Sentence and Conviction Appeals, and Young Offenders.
Team Members: Karl Wilberg, Wendy Bouwman, Shauna Grenier, Daniella Saporito

Frequently asked questions about Criminal Law:
If I am pulled over by the police and asked to provide a sample of my breath, should I cooperate?
I have just been charged with Impaired Driving - what happens now?
Do I need a lawyer for an impaired?
What happens with my licence?
What are the other penalties for impaired driving convictions?
What do I do if I find out that there is an outstanding warrant for my arrest?
How do I get a pardon?
What is the difference between Summary Conviction and Indictable Offences?
If I have been charged with theft from my employer, is that serious?
I have been charged with assaulting my spouse. What punishment should I expect?
I have been charged with a crime and I am worried that I will not be able to afford a lawyer's fees. I have heard from my friends that fees are huge. Is this true?

If I am pulled over by the police and asked to provide a sample of my breath, should I cooperate?

As a general rule, you should always provide a sample of your breath when requested to do so by a police officer. It is dangerous for you to refuse. If you are asked to provide a sample in a road side screening device, you should immediately cooperate. You almost never have the right or opportunity to consult with a lawyer before giving a sample into a roadside test. If you provide a sample that registers a fail, or if the police simply advise you that you are being taken into a police station to provide a breath sample, you will be given an opportunity to speak to a lawyer and you should always take advantage of that opportunity. You will then be asked to provide two samples of your breath. If the samples are insufficient, you may be asked to provide further samples. Refusing to provide a breath sample is a criminal offence under section 254 of the Criminal Code. Not only are you legally required to provide samples, but there are also more defence options for a charge of having a blood alcohol level over the legal limit than there are for the offense of refusing to provide a breath sample.

I have just been charged with Impaired Driving - what happens now?

Most people who are charged with impaired driving are actually charged with two separate offences: (1) driving a motor vehicle while one's ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or drugs, and (2) driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level that exceeds the legal limit. You should have a defence to both charges before proceeding to trial. In order to get a conviction on these offences, the Crown Prosecutors must be able to establish that you were operating the motor vehicle, and/or were in care or control of a motor vehicle. Next, they must be able to prove either that you were impaired, which is generally done by proving indicia of impairment (such as an odour of alcohol on your breath, slurred speech, disorientation, bad driving pattern) and/or that your blood alcohol exceeded the legal limit (which is established by breath or blood sample results).

Do I need a lawyer for an impaired?

Yes, If you care how long you will lose your licence. As a person accused of a criminal offence, you have the right to obtain a copy of the police file regarding your charges, which is commonly referred to as disclosure or particulars of the alleged offence. We can review the disclosure with you to determine whether you have any legal defences available to you, and can advise you on whether you should plea bargain or proceed to trial. If you are headed for a guilty plea, we can work toward minimizing your licence suspension and the fine, though obviously the fine is of less importance when you consider that you will have to pay legal fees. If there was an accident involved, if your blood alcohol readings were very high, and/or if this would not be your first offence, you should definitely seek the assistance of a lawyer as a jail sentence could be a possibility.

What happens with my licence?

A schedule to the Traffic Safety Act of Alberta dictates that if you are charged with operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit, or with refusing to provide a sample of your breath or blood, your licence will automatically be suspended for a period of three months. In the usual case, you are given 21 days notice of the suspension, and are issued a temporary licence for that 21 day period. This licence suspension is separate from any suspension you may receive as a result of a conviction in Court, though it may overlap with such a suspension. There is a mechanism in place to challenge the temporary suspension, but the legislation provides that the only way to be successful in a challenge is to establish that you either were not operating a motor vehicle (or were not in care and control of the motor vehicle) or that you either did not have a blood alcohol over the legal limit or had a lawful reason to refuse to provide a sample. The Driver Control Board can not reinstate your licence for any other reason, including any type of hardship argument. If you are convicted in Court of an offence, the Court must suspend your licence for a minimum of 12 months; the minimum and maximum suspensions will vary depending on whether you have any prior convictions. If you do receive a 12 month suspension, the Driver Control Board may make the Ignition Interlock program available to you in as little as 3 months. As of December 2001 the court may specify how soon you are eligible for the program. The Ignition Interlock Program allows you to receive your licence back on the restricted basis that you can only drive any vehicle with an Ignition Interlock device attached to it; the device is like a small breathalyzer device that attaches to the ignition of your vehicle, and requires that you provide a sample of your breath to start the vehicle and then at random intervals while you drive. At the end of your driving prohibition, you cannot begin driving until you satisfy all of the conditions imposed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, which will likely include a reinstatement fee, an alcohol course, and a driving test; once you satisfy the conditions, your licence will be reissued to you and you can begin driving again. You should also know that the offence of driving while disqualified is taken quite seriously by the Courts, particularly if you are caught driving during a Court ordered driving prohibition, and will often result in a jail sentence.

What are the other penalties for impaired driving convictions?

On a first offence, the Court must sentence you to a minimum fine of $600; the maximum fine for a first offence is $2000. On a subsequent offence, the minimum penalty may be a jail sentence. The Court can also impose a probation order or other penalty in addition to the fine or jail sentence. You should also expect to see a significant increase in your car insurance premiums and that if there was an accident involved, your insurance company will likely deny coverage.

What do I do if I find out that there is an outstanding warrant for my arrest?

You should immediately turn yourself in to the police, because it is your legal obligation to do so. If you turn yourself in, you are far more likely to be released than if the police execute the warrant against you under other circumstances, because it is obvious that someone who turns him or her self in is serious about dealing with the outstanding charges. If the issue of your release comes up, remember that the two main areas of concern are whether you will show up for Court appearances and whether you pose a risk to the community; your criminal record, your connection to the community, your personal circumstances and the circumstances of the alleged offence will likely all be factors. Remember that you are not obligated to answer questions the police may have about the alleged offence, and that a lawyer's advice will almost always be to say nothing. Any statements you make to the police can be used against you, but it cannot be held against you that you chose not to speak to the police about the alleged offence.

How do I get a pardon?

A pardon is a means of having your criminal record sealed for some purposes and it is recommended that you apply for a pardon as soon as you are eligible to do so. You can apply three years after the completion of your sentence for a summary conviction offence and five years after the completion of your sentence for an indictable offence. You can obtain a pardons package by calling 1-800-874-2652. You do not need a lawyer to apply for a pardon; the process is somewhat time consuming but the pardons booklet contains straightforward, step-by-step instructions on how to get your own pardon. It is important to note that a pardon does not affect your ability to travel to the United States or any other country. You must make inquiries of any country you are planning to visit to determine whether they have concerns about your criminal record.

What is the difference between Summary Conviction and Indictable Offences?

In general, the difference between the two is the severity of the punishment and the length of time the Crown has to start a charge. With Summary Conviction offences, the charge must be laid within six months of the offence. With Indictable offences, there is no statutory deadline of the filing of the charge. The maximum sentence for most Summary Conviction offences is a $2000.00 fine and six months in jail. With respect to many Indictable offences, the maximum sentences are ten years or more in prison. There are also important differences to consider with respect to the type of trial that you are entitled to have with respect to some Indictable offences. For instance, you can never have a jury trial for a Summary Conviction offence, and there are many cases where you could have a jury trial for an Indictable offence. The difference between Summary and Indictable offences also relates to how long you have to wait before you can apply for a pardon. You usually have to wait three years before being able to apply for a pardon for a Summary Conviction offence. With an Indictable offence, the wait is five years.

Further, for Indictable offences, you almost always have to be in Court on each Court appearance. For Summary Conviction offences, you are entitled to have your lawyer represent you. These are just a few of the important differences between these two offences. The differences between these two offences are differences that should be best explained by a lawyer. Sometimes a lawyer can even influence the procedure that the Crown chooses to use. The differences between these two procedures can make a great deal of difference to your life and it is important that you have a lawyer to help you get the best result possible.

If I have been charged with theft from my employer, is that serious?

Yes, it is serious. Although many of the thefts now are dealt with by way of non-jail sentences, theft from employers are still often dealt with by jail sentence. In fact, unless the amount stolen is small or unless there are other extremely unusual circumstances, many people go to jail for a theft from an employer. Thefts from an employer are typically the most serious kind of property offence that people with no previous record get involved in. It is extremely important that persons charged with these offences obtain a lawyer. This is a situation where a lawyer can make all the difference between you going or not going to jail.

I have been charged with assaulting my spouse. What punishment should I expect?

Again, this is a serious offence where offenders with no previous record or history of violence are often sent to jail. For many years, the Courts in Alberta have been concerned with attempting to eliminate violence from the domestic scene. As a result, the Courts have often sent people to jail - even people who have had no previous record. Again, as with theft from employer cases, it is extremely important that someone charged with one of these offences get legal advice. We have been able to assist many people in obtaining a sentence that is a non-jail sentence. There are other options to a jail sentence, but it is important that they be properly presented to the Court in order for them to be given consideration.

I have been charged with a crime and I am worried that I will not be able to afford a lawyer's fees. I have heard from my friends that fees are huge. Is this true?

First of all, phone us to make an appointment and ask us how much it would cost us to defend you. We will try our best to give you an estimate based on the information you give us. As with anything else in life, whether something costs too much or not depends on how important the case is to you. We know that most of our clients are willing to pay a reasonable fee for a job well done. We would be happy to meet with you and discuss your case and provide you with an estimate of our fees, at no cost to you for the initial interview.