Information & Advice from Our Winnipeg Criminal Lawyers

When dealing with the police, it is important to know your rights. The Winnipeg criminal lawyers at Saheel Zaman Law Corporation get many calls a month from people who have been asked to go to the station to be interviewed by the police in relation as a suspect in a case to a criminal investigation. We also get calls from people who have already gone in for a police interview and are concerned about what occurred and what they said to the police. If the police contact you to come in for a police interview (or if the police ask you to give a statement over the phone), your response should be: "I want to speak with a lawyer first." In this article, our Winnipeg criminal lawyers will discuss how getting advice from a lawyer in advance can protect you in a police interview.

 

Winnipeg lawyers at Saheel Zaman Law Corporation help clients navigate the criminal justice system, which can be extremely overwhelming for a person facing criminal charges to try to handle alone. For some people, the first steps of reaching out to contact a lawyer and meeting with the lawyer for the first time also seem daunting. Here are tips from our team of Winnipeg lawyers on how to prepare for your first consultation with a lawyer, which should help to take some of the stress out of the experience and ensure that you get the most benefit from your time with the lawyer.

 

Winnipeg criminal lawyers at Saheel Zaman Law Corporation regularly defend people charged under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (“CDSA”). Drug laws are complex and drug charges are often intertwined with sections of the Criminal Code, such as the provisions dealing with proceeds of crime and search warrants, for example. The stakes are extremely high for those who have been charged with a drug offence such as possession of an illegal drug or trafficking in a scheduled substance.

There are many reasons why people drink while impaired, or more specifically, with a blood alcohol content (BAC) that exceeds 0.08, which is the legal limit prescribed by the Criminal Code of Canada. Many simply don’t realize that their BAC is over the limit, because they are not educated about how little alcohol it takes to become impaired and how long it takes to sober up. Others feel inconvenienced or unwilling to spend money on a taxi to get home from a party, and believe that they are still in control despite being over the legal limit. Still others are dependent on alcohol, and are used to going about life’s activities in an impaired state. Underlying all of these “reasons” is the fact that drinking alcohol affects one’s decision-making process.

Driving a vehicle is considered a privilege and there are many reasons why a driver’s licence can be taken away. Your licence can be suspended if you are guilty of certain negligent or criminal actions, including those defined by the laws of Manitoba. Possible reasons for a driver’s licence suspension include certain Criminal Code of Canada offences, using your licence illegally, impaired driving, and driving while your licence is suspended.

If you’ve been charged with domestic assault you must proceed cautiously. Lawyers in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba will all you tell you the same thing: domestic violence is a zero-tolerance crime that is not taken lightly by the criminal justice system.

When you’ve been legally accused of theft or robbery, you may mistakenly assume it’s no big deal, especially if the infraction was relatively small. However, a criminal record is a lifelong liability that can impact your career prospects, your capacity to travel internationally, and your reputation in the community.