14. Regina v. J.C. [Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, Calgary – May, 2012]

Very Tough Case. This case, in essence, involved the defense of two separate prosecutions within a singular trial proceeding. The first prosecution was premised on a video taken at an express courier office. The video (according to the police), depicted J.C. dropping off a package containing in excess of a ½ kilogram of cocaine. The second prosecution was based primarily on a search by RCMP warrant conducted two days later at the residence of J.C. During the course of that search the police seized (from a locked safe in the basement) in excess of 2 kilograms of cocaine. From various other locations within the basement the police seized drug trafficking paraphernalia (hydraulic cocaine kilogram press, cut/dilutant, packaging materials, multiple scales, etc., etc.) consistent with a multiple kilogram cocaine trafficking operation. A Crown offer of three and a half years imprisonment (versus a range of five to seven years imprisonment if convicted at the end of trial) in exchange for a guilty plea to trafficking in cocaine was rejected. In defending this most serious prosecution we took the rather unusual step of calling evidence of two “mystery” (at least to the Crown) witnesses to testify. We did not call J.C. to testify. Bottom Line: At the conclusion of the six day trial verdicts of not guilty were entered on all charges.

For an official transcript of the judgement click here.