Assault Lawyers in Edmonton

If you are facing criminal driving charges, you need a criminal defence lawyer in Edmonton to look at your case as soon as possible.

In addition to common assault, you can also be charged with a more serious form of assault like aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

Regardless of the specific type of Assault, it is important to know that once a complainant makes an allegation of assault to the police, the decision to move forward with the prosecution is no longer in the complainant’s hands. Regardless of whether they wish to press charges after making the initial complaint, the Crown prosecutor will ultimately be the one to decide whether they will continue on with the charges. Further, even if the complainant no longer wishes to give testimony in court, they can be subpoenaed by the Crown and compelled by law to come and testify against you in trial.

Strategic Criminal Defence is a top Google-rated criminal defence firm in Edmonton, with over 100 5-star reviews. Our firm, and our experienced legal team, have defended clients in over 10,000 criminal cases. Leveraging our extensive network of lawyers and decades of experience, we craft defence strategies to help those accused of criminal driving beat the charge.

The lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence are both highly experienced and dedicated to defending your rights and future in the face of these charges. Contact a Edmonton assault lawyer today by calling 587-930-7877.

Successful Assault Cases

Case Number: 55592538 

Our client’s husband had been having an ongoing affair with another woman for several years. Our client knew about the affair but felt helpless to stop it and afraid to end their 25-year marriage. One evening, the tension exploded into a physical fight between our client and the mistress when the mistress refused to leave the matrimonial home. The mistress contacted police and when officers arrived, our client was arrested and charged with assault causing bodily harm.

Upon being retained, we immediately requested disclosure and accumulated a significant amount of mitigating evidence including letters of support, counselling receipts, and our client’s statement regarding the circumstances of the incident. We met with the Crown Prosecutor and explained our client’s side of the story and the many reasons why this case should not be prosecuted. The Crown agreed with our submissions and as a result, the charge was withdrawn.

Successful Result: Charge Withdrawn; No Criminal Record  

Case Number: 29290230 

Our client was charged with assault causing bodily harm following an altercation with his wife which began when he noticed his belongings outside of the home by the garbage can and went into the house where they began to argue. Our client and his wife presented two conflicting versions of events which led to the injuries his wife sustained. When our client took his wife to the hospital, she told doctors, and later her boss, that the injuries were sustained when she slipped on the ice. This was consistent with our client’s statement in which he says that he attempted to drive away from the home and his wife ran out to the car and slipped on the front steps.

At trial, we showed that the doctor who treated our client’s wife accepted that her injuries were consistent with a fall on ice. We also showed that our client’s wife consistently told this version of events until the two broke up three months after the incident and assault charges were laid. We raised the fact that the complainant testified to being so angry that she threw our client’s belongings outside of the house, that our client asked the complainant via text message to leave him alone and that the complainant was charged twice before the incident with assaulting our client. As a result of these submissions, our client was found not guilty at trial.

Successful Result: Found Not Guilty at Trial; No Criminal Record

Case Number: 55572301 

Our client was charged with assault causing bodily harm after an altercation at a bar which left the complainant with a concussion. At the time of the incident, our client was on probation at his new job. As a result of the criminal charge, he lost his position. If convicted, our client faced significant penal and employment consequences.

Upon being retained, we learned that our client’s employer would be willing to reinstate him so long as he did not receive a criminal record. We ordered disclosure, helped our client enter into anger management and began negotiations with the Crown Prosecutor. We informed the Crown of our client’s mitigating circumstances and the actions he was taking to address the issue. Based on this and the fact that the complainant did not wish to proceed, the Crown agreed to withdraw the charge.

Successful Result: Charge Withdrawn; No Criminal Record 

Case Number: 65690236 

Our client and her partner were returning from a night out when they began arguing. The argument escalated and ended when our client broke a mason jar on her partner’s head. He immediately called police and when officers arrived, they noticed that the house had been torn apart and our client’s partner required stiches. The police charged both parties with assault but upon further investigation, they withdrew charge against our client’s partner and escalated the charge against our client to assault with a weapon.

Upon being retained, we ordered disclosure and familiarized ourselves with the circumstances of the incident and our client’s relationship with her partner. The pair were intent on making things work and had begun counselling shortly before the incident. We raised this with the Crown Prosecutor, along with several mitigating factors about our client. As a result, the Crown agreed to withdraw the charge after our client completed counselling.

Successful Result: Charge Withdrawn; No Criminal Record  

Case Number: 55582521 

Our client was arrested after being pulled over for an unrelated incident. The assault and mischief occurred in a different town hours before and the perpetrator of those crimes had driven away in the same vehicle as our client. Despite our client claiming he had not been near either of those incidents, he was charged.

Upon being retained, we reviewed disclosure and discovered a significant issue regarding identification. No eyewitnesses could accurately identify our client and the general description was vague. When we brought the matter to trial, the Crown Prosecutor realized that their likelihood of conviction was low due to the identification issue and they immediately withdrew the charge.

Successful Result: Charge Withdrawn; No Criminal Record 

What happens during a police investigation?

An investigation of an allegation of assault typically begins when the victim or another other witness contacts the Edmonton Police Service and reports the alleged incident.

After obtaining a statement from the complainant and other witnesses, the police will typically track you down and place you under arrest. In minor instances of assault, you will likely be released shortly after your arrest with a recognizance or promise to appear before the court.

In more serious cases, you will likely be kept in custody and will require a formal bail hearing in order to secure your release. If you are not immediately released, you can expect that you will receive a bail hearing within the first 24 hours of being held in custody.

While you are waiting, you will likely be held in the Arrest Processing Unit in the basement of the Police Headquarters at 962-103A Avenue, Edmonton AB, T5H 0H7.

Typically, for your first bail hearing the police will bring you from the arrest processing unit at the police station to the Edmonton bail hearing office, which can be found on the Main Floor, SW Exterior entry of the Brownlee Building at 10365 97 St NW Here, you will appear over CCTV or telephone before a Justice of the Peace who will determine whether you will continue to be detained or released.

Bail hearings at the Edmonton bail hearing office occur 24 hours a day, but if you are unsuccessful at securing your release, you will typically have to wait until normal business hours when you can make an appearance before a judge in court for another hearing. If you are able to successfully argue for your release either at the bail hearing office or in court, you or someone you know will have to attend the Edmonton Courthouse or the Edmonton Remand Centre to post your bail before you can be released.

If someone you care about is in custody for assault, or if you think you might be brought into custody for this offence, contact one of our criminal defence lawyers immediately.

Once you have retained us, we will immediately assist you with the bail process, and begin working to resolve your matter in the most efficient and favourable manner possible.

Bail Conditions for Assault in Edmonton

After you have been released from custody, you will be required to comply with a set of bail conditions up until your trial or until you plead guilty to the charges.

Bail conditions for assault will place a number of restrictions on your liberty by precluding you from contacting or going near the complainant, by prohibiting you from possessing any weapons, and by requiring you to attend court as directed.

While these conditions can often be very onerous, you absolutely must comply with them. A failure to do so will result in a new criminal charge for failing to comply with an undertaking or recognizance.

If the conditions adversely impact your life in a serious and impractical way, (say by precluding you from attending your place of work), contact us immediately so that we can try to vary the conditions of your bail. Until you have retained one of our criminal defence lawyers to act on your behalf, you absolutely must attend all court appearances as directed.

Shortly following your release you will typically be directed to attend a docket courtroom in the Edmonton Courthouse for the purpose of entering a plea to your charges. Assault charges in Edmonton are typically sent to courtroom 265 for all docket appearances like entering pleas, making adjournments, or setting dates for trials, dispositions, or other hearings.

At your first appearance, your matter will be set for the plea, but you are not obliged to decide whether you will plead guilty or not guilty until you have had a chance to consult with legal counsel. As such, at your first appearance, you are well within your rights to request a two to three week adjournment from the judge so that you can have more time to hire a criminal defence lawyer.

Once you have requested your adjournment, contact one of our criminal defence lawyers immediately so that we can begin acting on your behalf and can begin working to quickly resolve your case.

Defending Assault Charges in Edmonton

While there are a variety of ways to defend an assault charge at trial, at Strategic Criminal Defence we make it a priority to resolve Assault charges quickly and outside of court.

One of the most effective ways that we can ensure you are not convicted of Assault is to resolve your matter with a peace bond. A peace bond is essentially a promise to the court that you will comply with a specified set of conditions for a year. Usually, these conditions include things like not contacting or attending the complainant’s residence or place of work, attending court and probation as required, and not being in possession of weapons for the duration of the order.

It is important to know that a peace bond is not a finding or admission of guilt and that it will not result in a criminal record. In addition to peace bonds, there are a number of other out of court resolutions that may be available depending on your personal circumstances. These may include pre-trial diversion through Alternative Measures or Mental Health Diversion or making an application for a Conditional or Absolute Discharge.

Should we ultimately need to proceed to trial, the lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence have years of experience defending Assault charges at trial. We will be able to use our well-developed advocacy skills to effectively undermine the Crown’s evidence, and to seek the exclusion of incriminating evidence, and to advance exculpatory evidence at trial.

A strong defence depends entirely on the specific facts of your case and the evidence against you.

However, some common defences to an assault charge may include the following:

  • Consensual Fight: In some circumstances, if there has been a consensual fight you cannot necessarily be charged with assault. As such, if you were a part of a consensual fight, you may be able to rely on this defence as this would mean that parties are consenting to the physical contact. However, it is important to note that consent can be vitiated in certain circumstances.
  • Self-Defence: It is acceptable to use force to respond to force, or a threat of force, so long as that force is reasonable. In these situations, you are said to have acted in self-defence.
  • Defence of Another: If you were in a situation where you responded to a force or the threat of force with force to defend someone else against an unlawful attack, provided there was no intent to cause death or grievous bodily harm, you may be able to rely on the defence of another.
  • Any Applicable Charter Defence: If any of your Charter rights have been violated before or after your arrest, you may be able to have some or all of the evidence that the Crown is relying on to secure a conviction excluded under s.24(2) of the Charter.

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Ellen did wonderful stuff for me and got my charges stayed she is an awesome lawyer and I would recommend her too anyone thank you so much for your help this past year

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Ellen Sutherland is an incredible lawyer. Her legal advice was precise and delivered to me in a manner that was easily understood. She helped me reach a decision for an IRS that was best case scenario for me.

Thank you, Ellen!

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I can not give enough thanks to this firm. Not only did we get walked through every step but they always kept us updated. The office staff is very inviting as well. At the end of a very long and stressful year the charges were dropped.

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