Never forget that you’re innocent until proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubt in the Ontario courts. 

Facing the justice system alone or with inexperienced legal counsel can be scary,  intimidating, and will never leave you feeling innocent as you attempt to prepare for your case or appeal.

Most individuals will only get one chance to get it right when before a judge, and that is where Cornwall’s Affordable Defence team comes in.

Fady Mansour, Solomon Friedman, and Vanessa Garcia are highly experienced criminal defence lawyers in Cornwall, Ontario that believe everyone deserves a powerful criminal defence to prove your innocence that doesn’t come at the cost of a high-priced attorney with thousands in legal fees.

We are here to help you feel comfortable and at ease as we work through your criminal case to prove your innocence before the courts.

What are your rights when facing criminal charges in Cornwall?

While it is important to know the law, which anyone can do by reading about it in books or online, it is also crucial to know your explicit circumstances, your personal criminal or non-criminal history and your priorities.

Our criminal defence team will take the time to get to know who you are and what your story is.

We are not here to judge your past or make you feel bad but to learn all the details of your situation to better help fight your criminal case to the best of our ability using every avenue of the law possible.

We are a compassionate criminal defence team that knows you haven’t budgeted for the high expenses that comes with a criminal legal team. We offer a free consultation to learn about you and your case, as well as flexible fee structures to meet most peoples budgets.

Affordable Defence wants to give you peace of mind to focus on your case and future freedom.

All Canadians have many rights that are enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that they are unaware of. The reality is that if you are caught in an altercation with the police, they typically will not remind you of these rights, so it is best to be aware of what they are.

Charter rights and arbitrary detention – Most individuals when approached by a police officer that wants to speak with you will typically comply and converse with the officer until the conversation has ended.

Most people are also unaware that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms affords everyone with protections that they are mostly unaware of. Section 9 of the Charter protects individuals from arbitrary detentions.

Being “arbitrarily detained” would occur when the police, through any implicit request they make, forces you to stop and remain with them. Sometimes the “detention” is not so obvious to the individual and you may think you are NOT free to leave.

The reality is the police are only permitted to detain you when they have reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that you were engaged in some form of criminal activity.

If the police did not have the required grounds for the detention then it would be considered illegal and any evidence presented can be excluded from the trial.

Charter rights, Highway Traffic Act, and your vehicle – It is quite common for Canadians to be pulled over by the police while in your vehicle, however, most people are unaware of what rights the police have to stop, question, and/or even search your vehicle.

No matter where you are or whose vehicle you are in, your charter rights will apply to you and any passengers in the vehicle. Here is a brief rundown of what you need to know when being pulled over.

First off, there are certain situations where the police should be able to legally investigate almost all vehicles. These would include: whether the vehicle belongs to the driver, whether the vehicle is properly insured, and whether the vehicle is in good working condition.

The reason why your charter rights do not cover these situations is that the Canadian government believes that driving is not a right but a privilege and the power to stop you comes from a separate piece of legislation known as the Highway Traffic Act.

The next part is important! The power of the Highway Traffic Act doesn’t allow for an officer to pretend to pull you over for one of the reasons stated above, only to find out it was because they “thought” you looked suspicious, were just “curious”, or thought you might be taking part in a criminal act.

These would all be breaches of the Highway Traffic Act. Another note to remember is just because you were properly stopped for any of the correct reasons does not give the officer carte blanche to search your entire vehicle or person.

Section 8 of your Charter rights states that unless the police can demonstrate that they otherwise had reasonable grounds or authority to search your vehicle, then they are breaching the Highway Traffic Act and can have the criminal case against you dismissed.

Charter rights and your home – When in your home you are the king of your domain and the police or any other law enforcement can only enter your place of residence lawfully under certain circumstances outlined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

When the police come on your property for the intent of communicating with you, there is nothing illegal with the situation. Law enforcement officials are, however, not entitled to abuse this privilege to conduct what they would call a “sniff test”, or coming to your residence for the sole purpose of seeing if there is any illegal activity going on when the officer does knock at your door.

Also, worth remembering, there is no obligation to answer the door when they do knock.

Second, you should remember that the officer is not allowed to enter your place of residence unless you have expressed permission in allowing them to enter. If you are not sure if you should allow them to enter then please, give us a call first!

The last note regarding your rights within your home is just because you have given a law enforcement officer the right to enter your home does not automatically grant them the ability to search your residence or personal possessions.

A search in your home without a court-issued search warrant is a serious intrusion into your privacy and of your rights and freedoms.  If a law enforcement officer has started conducting an illegal search of your home without a search warrant, don’t say anything else to them and contact us immediately.

Affordable Cornwall Criminal Defence Team

If you have been charged with one of the following criminal offences, we can help: Assault & Threats, Criminal Driving, Domestic Violence, Drug Offences, Drunk Driving Charges (DUI), Child Pornography, Murder/Homicide, white-collar crimes & fraud.