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jamie's Case — Arson & Mischief — Plea to Mischief Client: Jamie L., Accused Background: Jamie lived at his parents' house, usually alone because they were often out of Canada. That suited him just fine. With his parents recently back in Canada, Jamie's frustrations with their expectations reached a boiling point. After his parents had gone to bed, Jamie poured gasoline outside his parents' bedroom and set it alight, hoping to scare his parents out of Canada once and for all. With the hall ablaze, Jamie ran back to his bedroom. Luckily, his dad discovered and extinguished the fire. After a lengthy investigation, Jamie was charged with arson (disregard for human life) and mischief to property (danger to life). The police alleged there was $25,000 worth of damage. Goals: Jamie's primary goal was to avoid jail. As a foreign national, he had immigration concerns. Jamie hoped to dodge a conviction so that he could remain eligible to become a permanent resident. Strategy: The more I looked at this case the worse it got. Not only was there strong circumstantial evidence, but Jamie had admitted his guilt to his girlfriend, to his parents, and to the Court psychiatrist. The Crown wanted three years in jail for the arson, a tough position but not an unreasonable one. My preliminary goals were three-fold: (i) show that the actual damage was not as much as initially estimated; (ii) take the arson off the table and plead Jamie guilty to the mischief; and (iii) ask for a discharge in the hope of salvaging Jamie's immigration hopes. The first goal was easy: the cleaning and repairs totalled just over $6000. As for the rest, there was a potential path and some hope. Through a series of Crown and Judicial Pre-trial meetings, the Crown agreed to consider nixing the arson charge. However, there was a catch. The Crown wanted Jamie to admit to both offences and be assessed by a forensic psychiatrist. If the report was "good," the arson offence would be stayed. We took a deep breath, and nodded "yes." The Court ordered the psychiatric assessment, Jamie devoted himself to his rehabilitation, and I crossed my fingers. Results: The psychiatric report was positive. Jamie had gained real insight, and was assessed as a low risk to re-offend. The Crown abandoned the arson charge. Jamie was sentenced on the mischief charge. The Crown asked for 18 months in jail. I asked for a conditional discharge. The Judge convicted, but did not send Jamie to jail. Jamie received a suspended sentence with probation. READ JAMIE'S SENTENCING STATEMENT |
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