BC Criminal Defence Lawyer Blog

What must be proved for a criminal conviction in BC

Just because you do the act of a crime doesn't mean you'll be convicted in a BC court.  The prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you also intended to commit the crime.

This means the prosecutor must prove that you (1) committed a crime, and (2) intended to commit the crime.  For example, if you're in a car accident and it's your fault, but you didn't intend to cause the car crash, that isn't enough to be convicted of a crime in BC.  If that was the case, many car accidents would result in criminal convictions.  However, if you crash your car into someone intending to hit them, similar to intending to punch someone, then you could be charged with assault.

That said, and using the car crash example above, the prosecutor (called Crown Counsel in BC) must prove (1) that you crashed your car into a person and intended to crash your car into a person.

Beyond a reasonable doubt is more than just proving something is more than 50 percent likely.  Beyond a reasonable doubt means leaving very little or no doubt in the judge's mind that you (1) did a criminal act, and (2) intended to do the criminal act.

Gordon Dykstra, a criminal lawyer in the firm Dykstra & Company, has over 25 years experience defending people charged with a crime.