Tommy's Case — Attempted Theft — Dismissed

Client:  Tommy, Accused
Complainant:  Security Guard
Charge:  Attempt Theft Under $5000

Background:  It was February, it was cold, and it was 4 a.m. Tommy was homeless, and needed a place to sleep. He was trying to find a warm spot to lie down. He opened the side door of a van. He attempted to move the gym bag to make room to lie down. A security officer, having observed this, detained him and called the police. Tommy was charged with attempting to steal the gym bag.

READ THE POLICE REPORT

Goals:  Tommy wanted the charge withdrawn or dismissed.

Strategy:  I first tried to convince the Crown that they had no case because Tommy was only looking for a place to sleep and didn't intend to steal anything. They refused to accept our explanation. We scheduled the trial. Our defence was that Tommy had no intent to steal — no mens rea, as we lawyers like to say.

Results:  At trial, we got an unexpected break. The security officer testified that Tommy was trying to steal items from the gym bag, not the gym bag itself. Tommy was charged, however, with attempted theft of the gym bag. Since there was no evidence of that attempted theft, I brought what is called a non-suit motion. The purpose of that motion was to convince the Judge that the Crown had not presented a case that needed to be met — in other words, I was asking the Judge to dismiss the case without Tommy testifying. The Judge agreed.

READ THE JUDGE'S DISMISSAL OF THE CHARGE