3. Regina v. E.M.M. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Canmore – January 2018]

E.M.M. is a young professional from abroad with tentative legal status in Canada. Following an evening of alcohol fueled festivity, E.M.M. endeavored to walk home in moving traffic with several equally inebriated friends – they didn’t fare well. The police approached E.M.M. and ultimately arrested him for causing a disturbance and escorted him to the RCMP detachment.

During the course of processing at the lock-up, the police seized a quantity of cocaine from E.M.M. As a consequence of the seizure, E.M.M. was charged with possession of cocaine contrary to Section 4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act .

As E.M.M. could not sustain a conviction for a drug offence (his employment would have been terminated immediately) and given his precarious status in this Country, he retained the services of Patrick Fagan to defence this drug prosecution.

Bottom Line: Patrick Fagan was successful in resolving this most unfortunate drug prosecution by way of a complete withdrawal of the charge.