What To Do When Charged With Criminal Offence in BC?

In Canada you are able to see and read the whole of the case that is made out against you before you have to go to court and say anything at all. So you are able to read what the police report to the prosecutor, you are able to read what the witnesses have said and are going to say and you are able to review any document, maps drawings and reports of any experts. In other words you are able to learn the whole case that the prosecutor will show the court before you go to court.

It may be that when you have had a chance to see the whole case that the prosecutor will put before the court, your lawyer and you may decide that there is no case. If you so decide you will not have to say anything, except to plead not guilty. If your lawyer and you decide that you have to make an answer to what the prosecutor has shown or will show the court, you are able to take the time you need to prepare that answer. That answer always needs time to prepare because as in the story, there may, after all, have been a slippery floor, you are no longer upset and you can now say in a believable manner that you slipped .

You need a lawyer to show the court that what the police and the witnesses say does not add up to you having done anything. An expert that works in the courts is a lawyer. A lawyer will be able to find that the facts that the police report do not fit the rest of the story. Your lawyer may be able to show that the facts that the police report are against the known other facts. Your lawyer may be able to show that some of the facts that the police report are against other facts that they report. The same can be done for what the witnesses may say. The same can be done for other expert reports. But it takes a lawyer with experience to show them to the court.

You also need an expert to show the court the facts that are in your favour. Or to show the facts that are against the facts as reported by the police, the witnesses and the experts. The key to showing the court your side is to have it ready well in time. It does no good to think of something that will help but you cannot use it because you thought of it too late and cannot get it before the court in time. When that happens it may even work against you because the court will see what may have helped you but you did not show it so the court thinks that it would not have helped you, because if it would have helped you would have shown it.

From all of that you can see that the way to show your side to the court is not easy to do. It takes a lot of thought and it has to be done well ahead of time. If it has been done well and in plenty of time your side of the story may not help enough but it will more likely help than your side of the story being shown in part and with parts missing.