Brian's Case — Criminal Harassment — Withdrawn

Client:  Brian H., Accused
Complainant:  Brian's former girlfriend
Charge:  Criminal Harassment (repeatedly communicating)

Background:  Brian had a number of stressors in his life. He was a medical student, which, as you may know, is stressful enough. He was also dealing with some mental health issues, and he had taken time off from school to deal with these issues. Now pile on a relationship which he thought was fine but which was, in reality, near its end. Brian misread the signals and was still "working on" this relationship when he should have been walking away and starting over. When the reality of the situation finally did sink in, Brian couldn't easily let go, and he acted inappropriately. As a result, his former girlfriend complained to the police, and he was then charged with criminal harassment.

READ THE POLICE REPORT

Goals:  Brian was rightly concerned about how this charge and its outcome might affect his career. His objective was to resolve the matter so that he did not receive a criminal record.

Strategy:  Since Brian was being prosecuted in Kingston, he indicated that he would be more comfortable if we hired a senior counsel in Kingston to work with us. I told Brian that that was not necessary, but that I was happy to do that if it would make him feel more comfortable. The strategy in Brian's case focused on convincing the Crown that it was not necessary to formally prosecute Brian. Given Brian's personal history, I knew there was a chance of having Brian qualify for the mental health diversion program, which is a program that allows both the Crown and the accused person to deal with the matter on a mental health basis rather than through formal criminal proceedings. It's a great program from everyone's point of view. From the Crown's perspective, the accused person deals on a voluntary basis with the underlying mental-health or behavioural problem. From the accused person's perspective, the matter is resolved without a criminal record. With this goal in mind, I had Brian attend for assessment and counselling. Even if Brian didn't formally qualify for the mental health diversion program, I knew that the report from the counsellor might be sufficient to convince the Crown not to proceed.

Results:  We afterwards presented the Crown with a report demonstrating that Brian was dealing with his problems in a responsible and productive manner, that he had moved on from this relationship, and that he was not a risk. The Crown agreed not to proceed upon Brian entering into a peace bond (with a condition that he have no contact with the complainant). Brian signed the peace bond. The charge was withdrawn. Our goal was achieved!

READ BRIAN'S TESTIMONIAL