Isaac's Case — Distribution Child Pornography — Withdrawn

Client:  Isaac, Accused
Complainant:  Toronto Regional Police Service
Charges:  Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography

Background:  Isaac and his wife had just exited their car. They were headed for a movie. A police officer identified himself, and informed them about the search warrant. There was no movie that night, but there was drama. The police combed through Isaac's home searching for child pornography. They seized every piece of media capable of storing digital information, including computers, MP3 players, CD-Roms, DVDs, and VHS tapes. By nightfall, Isaac was in custody and charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. He was released a few days later on very strict bail conditions. He hired me a week later.

READ THE POLICE REPORT

Goals:  Isaac's goal was to stay out of jail. If the Crown wouldn't agree, he would go to trial.

Strategy:  At the time, a guilty plea to simple possession could have resulted in no jail time. The Crown, however, wanted a guilty plea to both possessing and distributing child pornography, making "no jail" a highly unlikely prospect. That left us with one option: fight the charges at trial. So we switched gears. Instead of trying to resolve the matter, we would fight to the bitter end. The primary trial strategy was to attack the foundation for the two search warrants (as was done in Nathan's case). We had a preliminary hearing and afterwards scheduled a trial in Superior Court. In advance of the trial, I filed a Charter Application attacking the two search warrants along with written submissions in a document we lawyers called a Factum.

Results:  The trial started with my Charter Application seeking to quash the two search warrants and to exclude the seized evidence. The Crown called two police officers as witnesses. Isaac didn't testify. The Judge, having heard the evidence and our submissions, adjourned the case to consider his decision. When we returned some weeks later, the Judge quashed the two search warrants, and excluded the seized evidence. The Crown withdrew the charges that morning.

READ THE JUDGE'S RULING QUASHING THE SEARCH WARRANTS
READ THE TESTIMONIALS OF ISAAC'S MOTHER AND SISTER