Criminal Defence Lawyer in Barrhead

Verhaeghe Law Office is committed to defending individuals accused of a range of criminal offences. We begin every case with the assumption that charges must be proven by the Crown. It is not our job to prove your innocence. It is our job to prove that the Crown’s case is weak, untenable, and ultimately, unfounded. With aggressive tactics and intelligent strategies, Verhaeghe Law Office aims to secure a fair trial for all defendants, regardless of the charge.

There is no other law firm in Barrhead more prepared to work on your case. Our criminal defence lawyers have spent their careers working in the field of Canadian criminal law. They know that charges do not imply guilt. They know that there are often mitigating factors in every case. They know that the law is there to protect your rights, not impinge upon them. Contact Verhaeghe Law Office in Barrhead today.

What are Criminal Charges?

When an individual is accused by the provincial or federal government of an offence or a crime, this is called a criminal charge. The important thing is that a charge is only an accusation. The prosecution may have evidence that backs up the charge, but that doesn’t mean the defendant is guilty.

As your criminal defence lawyers, Verhaeghe Law Office will argue against the charges. Our goal is to show that the evidence that the prosecution presents does not support the charges against you.

What is a Prosecution?

The goal of the prosecution is to prove that the charges they have brought forward are supported by the evidence. Because criminal cases are normally investigated by the police, most of the evidence will be collected by them. The prosecution will take all that evidence and create a story that describes what occurred and how the defendant was involved. The evidence must prove that the charges are true beyond a reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt does not mean that the defendant is “probably guilty”. It means that a reasonable person, using common sense and understanding the law, would not be able to claim that the defendant is innocent.

What is a Defence?

In a criminal case, the defence needs to prove that the charges are unfounded. This can happen in a variety of ways. We can mount a defence that shows that the evidence does not prove your involvement. Or we can show that you were not involved in the way that the prosecution claims you were. In that case we would look at what are called mitigating factors. Mitigating factors can include things like necessity, duress, intoxication, and automatism. In these cases, although it may be proven that the defendant committed the crime, there were external factors that change the way the crime will be interpreted.

In other cases, a defence can argue that the evidence was not collected in a legal way. This kind of defence protects the constitutional rights of the defendant. For example, if the police did not get the right warrant to collect their evidence, that evidence will not be permitted in court and the prosecution will not be able to argue their case.