AREAS OF PRACTICE

The Vancouver Criminal Defense Law Practice of Emmet J. Duncan defends clients charged with any criminal and quasi-criminal offence. Some of the main criminal, drug and provincial offences which Mr. Duncan defends his clients against include:

DRUG OFFENCES (POSSESSION / TRAFFICKING / PRODUCTION)

To be convicted of possessing illegal substances (including marijuana, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy), the Crown must prove a number of things, including that you had both knowledge and control over the substance in question.

Police charge trafficking where the Accused does any of the following: sells, administers, gives, transfers, transports, sends or delivers the illegal substance in question.

Police charge production wherever they think they have enough evidence to prove the Accused was involved in the production of any of the many drugs listed in Schedules of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.  The most common examples include meth labs and marijuana grow operations or "grow ops."

Most drug charges are laid after the police conduct some sort of a search – from a simple pat down to a full-blown search warrant.  Sometimes the evidence comes from wiretap after the police obtain a “wiretap authorization / warrant.”  Obtaining and executing these warrants is a very technical process and mistakes by the police can result in successful challenges to the evidence, which if excluded often leads to an acquittal.

For a sampling of recent successes that Vancouver Criminal Defence Lawyer Emmet J. Duncan has enjoyed for his Clients, browse his Recent Successes in Defending Drug Offences.

** Please be advised that these definitions and information are not comprehensive legal definitions.  They are designed to provide a brief and basic description of some of the most common criminal charges.  As with all criminal charges, available defences will vary depending on the individual circumstances of each case.   As such, the content of this website is not legal advice.   Do not use or otherwise rely on any of the following content without first seeking proper legal advice.**