Law and Justice

Posts Tagged ‘Toronto’

Whenever a person is accused of having committed a criminal act that person risks to have their life change forever, and in many cases it is for the worse. It is, however, a well known fact that a person against whom charges is not in all cases guilty and this is why Canada, the United States of America, and numerous other countries from all over the world consider that every accused person must be considered innocent until proven guilty through evidence, testimonies and so on. Criminal lawyers are the people that work to make a difference in the lives of people accused of committing various crimes and to a person that find him or herself in such a hard position, there is nothing more important than hiring highly competent criminal lawyers that can provide a positive outcome. For criminal lawyers it really does not matter whether or not a client is guilty or innocent and they work hard to obtain the best possible results for their customers. There are certain expectations that each client has to meet such as providing all the information relevant to their cases in a truthful manner without withholding anything, as everything matters in criminal cases. Finding criminal lawyers is not the hardest task in the world but finding the right one for a specific case is not all that easy because there are quite a few criminal lawyers active in Toronto and you have to be aware that some unscrupulous attorneys will promise getting total acquittals for their customers even if they themselves do not believe that a good outcome is possible for certain cases. Experience and expertise are the keys to winning even the most difficult cases but not every attorney benefits from these two advantages so as clients need to do their own research. The best choice is to go for referrals. Always start out by asking people that are close to you and whom you can trust and if you do not get good results by doing this, it is time to diversify your searching methods. With the internet constantly growing, more and more companies have started presented their services on internet websites so that clients can reach them easier. Also, in many cases the wise idea would be to search for a well established Toronto criminal law firm instead of trying to find individual criminal lawyers. The reason is that a Toronto criminal law firm will most likely be able to present their customers with a good number of well versed criminal lawyers that are most suitable for certain cases considering specific charges and more. Also, working with a Toronto criminal law firm will most likely mean that you will be able to benefit not only from years of experience in the criminal law but also specific channels and services that can provide increased chances for success. In regards to the fees required for this type of service, there are really no standards so you will discuss them upfront thus being able to make your decision a little easier if you have a specific budget in mind.

When the first cars and most important the mass production of cars were invented, no one could even imagine how big this industry will be. It took about hundred years and the cars rapidly multiplied in numbers, becoming an important element of our everyday life. Unfortunately they became not only a useful thing, but also made their own death toll and turned even the smallest road a pretty dangerous place. The worst part of the accidents is definitely driving under the influence of better to say drunk driving, as you will see in this article even the smallest changes in laws on drunk driving can lead to heated debates.

The first rules regulating the driving under the influence were set with the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69, also known as Bill C-150. The bill made it a “per se” offence to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) in excess of milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood. Also the Bill stated that a refusal of a police officer’s demand to provide a breath sample is an offence too. Still the drivers managed to handle small over the norm alcohol level with “two-beer” defense. The idea of this defense is following, people accused of driving with more than the norm set by the law (.08 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood) would often argue they had consumed just two beers. Also a popular statement is that the last beer was consumed not long before the breath test, so there is more alcohol in their breath than in their blood.

An often used driver “two-beer” defense has been virtually abolished by a new federal legislation. The new changes, that are part of the federal government’s Tackling Violent Crime Act, kept the right to question the breathalyzer results, but only if the person provides the court with technical evidence proving the equipment was malfunctioning or wasn’t operated properly.

Some lawyers stated that the new legislation is unconstitutional and they will appear before the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto to present their arguments. They try to resolve thing quickly, before the government can get on with the business of prosecuting impaired drivers. The main argument is that with this change divers will be unable to protect themselves if the equipment is really damaged or malfunctioning. Usually drivers don’t know much about breathalyzers and they won’t be able to present valid evidence to the court. Also the information of the breath machines, including maintenance records, specs and the manufacturers’ manual are kept secret and not available to casual driver who is stopped on the street. This turns a useful tool into a one-way guilty ticket, in case of malfunctioning.

On the other side this change is positive for the police officers. Usually they are in a difficult situation. Some of the officers stated that they rely more on temporary license suspensions and not on the charges against drivers slightly over the limit, because the “two-beer” defense can easily beat these charges.