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Kamloops criminal lawyer to lecture on cross-examination

Kamloops criminal defence lawyer Brad Smith, QC will start the new year with law students at Thompson Rivers University, as an invited guest lecturer in the law school’s course on Dispute Resolution. Smith will lecture on cross-examination, an advocacy skill which any aspiring trial lawyer needs to develop.

Widely regarded as a highly effective cross-examiner, Smith has previously presented on the topic of cross examination in a variety of forums, including at the Law Society of BC’s Professional Legal Training Course.

Smith’s presentation to the law students will focus on the process, law, and ethics of cross-examination, and will include a demonstration in which he will cross-examine a law professor based on a set of facts from a fictional criminal case. Smith will also assess students tasked with trying their hand at the skills they have learned in the course.

“As a member of the Kamloops legal community, it’s important to me to support our law school and its students. It’s also a pleasure to meet local law students and see them put their learning into action,” said Smith.

Don’t plead guilty to something you didn’t do

It was like a bad dream playing out in real life. A person was charged with a criminal offence for something they did not do. They hired a lawyer—from another firm—and that lawyer told them to plead guilty. The prosecutor was offering a deal and all the client had to do was say they did something that they didn’t. They would have had a criminal record, but no jail time.

To their credit, this person refused to plead guilty. In their heart, they believed they could fight the criminal charges with the right Kamloops criminal lawyers at their side. They left that lawyer and hired us. As a result of us advocating for our new client, the prosecutor stayed the charges.

We called our client right away to share the good news. It was one of those conversations that brings tremendous satisfaction as a criminal lawyer. We like helping people charged with criminal offences. We know our client likely slept better after that conversation than they had in months. The nightmare of facing criminal charges is now behind them. We’re glad we were able to help!

Youth, criminal charges and social media

With millions of posts every day, most of us have heard about social media horror stories or read headlines about a post gone wrong.

Many parents are aware of the dangers of social media, but when a youth is facing criminal charges, the stakes become much higher.

Go AFK on social

The first step to protecting your child if they are facing criminal charges is knowing which lawyer you would call and ensuring that your child doesn’t speak to the police. There is another step to take as well, and that is telling your child to stop using all social media, the minute that accusations start being made. Parents may know the term “AFK” –Away From Keyboard. If there is a time to step away from the keyboard, it’s when your child has been charged with a criminal offence or when your child might be facing criminal charges.

Your child may want to respond to a comment or post. They may want to direct message the complainant. They shouldn’t. Here’s why: what may seem harmless could end up being used as evidence in a criminal proceeding. This is especially so given how easy it is to take screenshots on smartphones.

The lure of communication

Your child may believe that if they just tell the truth and give their side of the story, that all problems will be solved. They may be tempted to send a long message to the complainant. If only the justice system worked like that. Their comments and messages could easily end up harming their defence.

Act to protect your child

When the heat is on your child, act quickly to secure an experienced criminal lawyer. We have worked with youth clients and have helped youth avoid criminal records. We can help protect your child’s rights and create their best defence strategy. Call us today.

Remember this rule if facing criminal charges

Remember Rule #2: “Don’t make any statements.”

That’s what we tell people who have been arrested or are being investigated by the police. Maybe they’re facing criminal charges, maybe the police are looking into their lives, maybe the police say they just want to chat.

When you talk to the police, they collect evidence. They build a criminal case—what you say can be used against you.

What if you deny everything to the police?

See Rule #2. You don’t know what evidence the police have. For instance, maybe the police have evidence showing you were in a certain place, say a car. If you deny you were in the car, now the police have more information. They have you denying you were in a car when evidence shows that you were. Now the police are really interested. Now they’re asking more questions. Through your denial, you may have painted yourself into a corner and might be wishing you could have a do-over and stick to rule #2.

This denial scenario has been called a reverse confession. You think you’re not confessing to anything but everything you say helps police build a case against you.

The bottom line: Don’t make ANY statements.

What’s Rule #1?

Get an experienced criminal lawyer.

If you’re in trouble with the law or facing charges, you need an experienced criminal lawyer to defend you. We can help.

Our lawyers practise exclusively in criminal law. Whether you’re facing criminal charges for sexual offences, drug offences or murder, we can help you. Any criminal charges, anywhere in BC. Call us today.

Criminal law firm welcomes articled student Kyle Hunter

Kyle Hunter gained the best criminal law experience when he summered with our criminal law firm

Kyle Hunter, Articled Student

Kamloops criminal law firm, Smith Law Group, is pleased to welcome back Kyle Hunter, a recent TRU Law graduate. Kyle began his articles with Brad Smith, QC in August 2021. He completed the Professional Legal Training Course in September 2021.

Kyle first joined the law firm as a summer student in 2020 where he gained experience in criminal law while working with BC criminal lawyers Brad Smith, QC and Danielle Ching McNamee. Kyle is keen to continue working with Smith Law Group, helping people charged with a criminal offence or who are being investigated by the police.

“I don’t know who your lawyer is, but they must be GOOD!”

We get the best feedback from our clients! One client was recently arrested and taken into police custody on serious criminal charges just two hours before end of court day on a Friday of a long weekend. What does it mean when you’re arrested last-minute like that? It sure makes you wonder if someone wants you to spend your whole long weekend in custody. Generally, it takes time to reach a criminal lawyer and get the wheels of justice in motion. Many criminal defence law offices close early on the Friday before a long weekend—but not ours. We don’t want our clients stuck in custody for the weekend, usually after the police have tried to have a long chat with them “to get their side of the story”.

In this case, our client immediately called us and we got to work fast. It’s how we defend against criminal charges. If you or someone you know is under investigation by the police, or facing criminal charges, we have skilled criminal lawyers available and ready to help anywhere in BC, whether it be Kamloops, Williams Lake, Vernon… you name it.

This brief story ends well. Within those two hours, our client was released. As they left custody, an official said to them, “I don’t know who your lawyer is, but they must be GOOD!”

The client called us and told us about it—as they too headed out for the long weekend.

 

The catch 22 in “Best criminal lawyers Kamloops”

You might notice that most lawyers don’t advertise as “Best criminal lawyers Kamloops” or “Best criminal lawyer BC” and there’s a good reason for that.

The Law Society of BC, which governs the legal profession in BC, does not allow that type of wording in lawyer advertising. The Law Society’s website says that marketing by a lawyer—or approved by a lawyer—must not be false, inaccurate, unverifiable or misleading.

To market oneself as “Best criminal lawyers Kamloops” is generally unverifiable, even if the lawyer thinks it’s true.

The fact is, the “best criminal lawyer” is not a provable fact, such as is proving which detergent removed a stain in a lab.

So how do you choose a criminal lawyer?

Facing criminal charges is stressful and you might be tempted to select the one that describes themself as “Best criminal lawyer Kamloops.” However, choosing a criminal defence lawyer has real life consequences and needs careful consideration.

Take time to:

  1. Check lawyers’ websites;
  2. See what clients say about working with them and their character; and
  3. Find out about their experience in criminal law and reputation.

We hope we make the choice easier with the information we provide, including many client reviews.

If you have any questions, call us. We’re here to help.

Best Criminal Lawyers Kamloops?

You may see law firms advertising as “Best Criminal Lawyers Kamloops” and “Best Defence Lawyers Best Attorneys” but you won’t see our criminal law firm doing that. Doing so is very risky for the firm. Why?

Calling yourself the best criminal lawyers in Kamloops is against the rules

The Law Society of BC sets the rules for how BC lawyers can advertise their services. One big no-no for lawyers is including unverifiable information. Can a firm verify that they are actually the Best Criminal Lawyers in Kamloops? Can they PROVE it?

Based on our client testimonials—and our clients really like how we defend them against criminal charges—we were added to a service called 3 Best Rated, which is based on client reviews. That’s the one way you’ll find us if you Google Best Criminal Lawyers.

If you want the truth about our criminal lawyers, read our reviews

There are a lot of other words besides “Best” that our clients use. For instance, one of our clients said Brad Smith, QC is “wickedly smart” and if you Google “wicked smart lawyer Kamloops” we are first in the search results.

Check out what other clients say on our testimonials page. If there’s a page that shows just how hard we work for clients facing criminal charges or being investigated by the police, it’s that one. You could say it’s the best.