These offenses include spousal assaults, sexual assault, sexual interference, as well as assaults which cause bodily harm, in addition to weapons offenses.   The Conservative government in power today changed the punishments for many offenses to make them more stiff, and require longer jail sentences.  In particular, having a loaded pistol can result in a sentence of over 3 years in jail today, as a result of a mandatory minimum sentence. Judges have lately refused to follow that minimum sentence, finding that it violated section 12 of the Charter of Rights, the section which prevents cruel and unusual punishment.  Convictions for sex offenses now generally require that the offender be registered with SOIRA, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, and require DNA testing be submitted to a National Database for comparison purposes.  Our lawyers can help prevent a conviction for these offenses, and in some cases ensure that you do not become a registered sex offender, should you be convicted.  In a long trial last year, one of the Tessmer lawyers obtained acquittals for a client in a jury trial alleging historical sex assaults. Recently, one of our lawyers got the Crown to drop a charge of possession of a loaded gun, so that he didn’t have to face a minimum sentence.

Other assaults might include a mere push.  The Criminal Code defines an assault as an intentional application of force.  We are frequently able to prevent these minor incidents, often between husband and wife, from going to Court.  If bodily harm is caused, which happens in some spousal situations, even consent will not be a defense.  The Supreme Court has said that two men cannot agree to a fight to cause bodily harm.  And some sporting events will lead to charges of assault, where the participants go outside the expectations of that sport in the application of force.  Talk to one of our lawyers to get their expertise in defending these types of cases.

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