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Peck and Company Client Acquitted in Drug Importation Case

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Peck and Company lawyers Caroline Senini, Casandra Tam, and Romi Laskin secured an acquittal for their client in a drug importation case. The client was accused of importing almost 15 kilograms of methamphetamine in a secret compartment in his car. The trial judge found the client not guilty on all charges, finding that much of the client’s testimony was corroborated by other evidence and that he was unaware of the drugs and secret compartment.

This was the client’s second trial on these charges. Peck and Company previously won an appeal from the client’s conviction in his first trial.

Peck and Company Client Acquitted in Public Mischief Case

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Richard C.C. Peck, K.C., Eric V. Gottardi, K.C., and Lee Vandergust secured an acquittal for their client on a public mischief charge. The client reported to the police that his foot was run over in a hit and run, but was then suspected of having committed public mischief. Counsel argued that the client’s foot was indeed run over and that at no point did the client intend to mislead the police.

The trial judge found that the reports to the police were not intentionally misleading. Though an acquittal could have been awarded on that basis alone, the judge went on to find that he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the client’s foot was run over. The judge acquitted him on both of those bases. The reasons for judgment are available here.

Peck and Company Wins Drug Importation Appeal

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Peck and Company lawyers, Eric V. Gottardi, Q.C., Caroline Senini, and Mark Iyengar won an appeal from a drug importation conviction. The trial judge did not properly instruct the jury on what it meant for a fact to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the standard of proof in a criminal trial. Instead, the opening remarks and final instructions to the jury created the danger that a guilty verdict could have been reached on the basis that the appellant was “probably” guilty, which is a much lower standard. The Court of Appeal’s decision can be found here.

Peck and Company Secures Acquittal on Appeal

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Rebecca McConchie and Mark Iyengar won an appeal from a client’s conviction in the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. The Court of Appeal found that there was no evidence to support the charge of counselling a person to utter threats, overturning the conviction and substituting an acquittal. The Court of Appeal’s decision can be found here.

Peck and Company Wins Appeal Broadening Disclosure Rights

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Tony Paisana and Mark Iyengar were counsel for the appellant in a recent, historic decision that will affect the rights of those who have potentially been wrongfully convicted.  In Roberts v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2021 BCCA 346, the Court of Appeal recognized, for the first time ever at an appellate level in Canada, the constitutional right to disclosure in the post-appeal phase of a criminal case.  The Court of Appeal established a three-stage threshold for obtaining disclosure in these circumstances.

This decision will mean that those who may have been wrongfully convicted will have a constitutional right to access investigative materials in the hands of the authorities where the threshold is met, and enforce this right in court if disclosure is improperly denied.  Further details regarding the judgment and its impact are outlined in this recent Vancouver Sun article.