24. Regina v. D.V. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary – October, 2010]
Client was rolling down Deerfoot Trial when his vehicle caught fire and ultimately burned to a crisp at roadside. To make our client’s day just a little bit worse two off-duty peace officers arrived on the scene and claim to have observed our client hide a large quantity of cocaine (approximately half a pound) in the ditch adjacent to the vehicular barbeque. We elected trial by Queen’s Bench and scheduled a preliminary inquiry. At the preliminary inquiry both peace officers (one a 5 year veteran of the RCMP and the other a member of the Sheriff’s Department) pointed boldly under oath to our client in the courtroom as the person they observed hiding the cocaine in the snow. Under cross-examination by the defence, however, both officers ultimately agreed that they could not in fairness testify with certainty under oath that the person they observed placing the substance in the snow was our client. How about that. The learned Provincial Court Judge presiding at the preliminary inquiry refused to commit our client to stand trial relative to the cocaine and killed this most serious charge by way of an order of discharge.
Patrick C. Fagan is a highly accomplished lawyer with an impressive career spanning over 35 years in the legal field.