When you are charged with a criminal offence, the police have the discretion to keep you in custody an have you brought before a Justice for a bail hearing. If this happens to you, it is vital that you obtain effective legal counsel to help secure your release with the least restrictive conditions possible. If bail is denied, it can mean spending months in jail waiting for your trial date to arrive.

Assaults involve the intentional application of force against another person against their will. There are a number of aggravating factors that can increase the severity of your sentence if you are found guilty this offence, including:  whether the victim was a domestic partner, if a weapon was used, if the assault was sexual in nature, and if serious injuries were sustained. 

It is a crime to operate or to be in care or control of a motor vehicle if you are impaired by drugs or alcohol, or if your blood alcohol concentration is above 0.80mg/ml. The consequences of conviction are serious, and include minimum fines, driving prohibitions, significant increases in insurance premiums, and even jail. The defence of these charges and the evidence presented in these cases require a specialized approach. It is therefore imperative that you retain a defence lawyer who is experienced in this area of law.

Drug offences are listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and include the possession, trafficking, importing/exporting, and production of scheduled substances. Factors that affect the gravity of the offence and the severity of the potential sentence include the type and quantity of the drug or substance in question. Successful drug defence lawyers know how to challenge the admissibility of the evidence in these cases, and how to raise a reasonable doubt on the critical issues of knowledge and control.

Fraud cases are often very complex and can involve thousands of pages of financial disclosure. The offence is committed when a person defrauds the public or a person of any property, money, or service by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means. Kevin Mehar is experienced in dealing with these matters and has successfully defended several large scale fraud and breach of trust cases. 

The Criminal Code contains a large number of different sexual offences including: sexual assault, voyeurism, luring a child, invitation to sexual touching, and child pornography. These offences are extremely serious and and a conviction can result not only in a lengthy jail term, but also in being listed on a sex offender registry.

Weapons offences address the use and possession of weapons and firearms. These offences criminalize the possession of certain firearms, weapons, ammunition and devices. In addition, they impose severe penalties to those who use a firearm in the commission of an indictable offence. 

In Canada, robbery is an indictable offence subject to a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Although a robbery can be committed without the use of any weapons, if a firearm is used, the accused will face lengthy minimum terms of imprisonment, ranging from 4 - 7 years.