Criminal Law

A criminal charge puts three things at risk at once: your liberty, your record and your reputation. The Crown must prove every element of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt, and it must do so on evidence that was gathered lawfully. Our work starts by testing whether it can.

Most matters follow a familiar path — arrest and release, or a bail hearing; disclosure from the Crown; a judicial pre-trial; then resolution or trial. What changes from file to file is where the pressure points sit: a search that may have breached section 8 of the Charter, a statement taken without a proper caution, an identification resting on a single witness, or delay that engages the right to be tried within a reasonable time.

How we work a criminal file

• Read the full disclosure package line by line, and demand what is missing.
• Identify Charter issues early, because they shape everything after.
• Explain the realistic range of outcomes plainly, before any decision is made.
• Prepare every file as though it is going to trial — whether or not it does.

Mohamed El Rashidy has appeared at every level of court in Ontario, including the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, as well as the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. Appellate work informs how a trial record is built in the first place.

If you have been charged, say nothing to police beyond identifying yourself, and call counsel. We take instructions in English, Arabic and French.