Martland & Saulnier is delighted to announce that John M. Gordon, KC, is joining the firm as Associate Counsel. John is widely regarded as a leading appellate lawyer. For years he was counsel and director of the Crown's Criminal Appeals office, where he conducted dozens of appeals at the Court of Appeal for British Columbia…
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December 2022
After a 13-day trial, Trevor Martin’s client, a member of the RCMP, was found not guilty of assault. His co-accused, another RCMP officer, was also acquitted. The Crown alleged that the officers used excessive force in the course of arresting a suspect who fled from a stolen car and later resisted arrest. Both…
October 2020 and October 2022
In October 2020, Brock Martland, QC and Elliot Holzman were counsel in the Court of Appeal on an appeal from conviction for six counts of first-degree murder in the Surrey Six shootings. The appeal was eight days in duration and was webcast live to the public. Brock had been counsel…
July 2022
After a seven-day jury trial, former Vancouver Canucks player Jake Virtanen was found not guilty of sexual assault. Brock Martland, QC was defence counsel, along with Colleen Elden. The high-profile trial took place only six months after the charge was laid. The case also involved a rare pre-trial appeal to the BC Court…
Note: February 2024
Canadian Lawyer renewed the firm's listing as one of three Vancouver firms identified as a top criminal law boutique in Canada.
February 2022
On February 2, 2022, Canadian Lawyer magazine published its annual list of winners for the top criminal law boutiques in Canada. Martland & Saulnier was selected as one…
November 2021
Crown counsel withdrew charges of: sexual assault, assault, unlawful confinement and threatening against Joe Saulnier’s client. The complainant was the client’s ex-girlfriend, who made allegations against him after a big argument and breakup. After she made her statement to police, the client was arrested at work and charged with these serious offences. The…
November 2021
Trevor Martin’s client was acquitted of drug trafficking charges in Youth Justice Court after a successful Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge led to the exclusion of all evidence. Trevor argued that his client’s rights were violated in the course of a strip search and that the evidence against him should not be…
September 2021
It is unusual for me to post statements or publish details of one of my client’s cases. Typically my clients want privacy, even when they have been acquitted or the charges dropped. This is for good reason, as additional publicity about criminal charges is rarely helpful, even after it is shown that my…
July 2021
On July 5, 2021, Joe Saulnier’s client received a two-year conditional sentence, with house arrest, for charges of assault and sexual assault. Crown had asked for a two-year jail sentence.
At the time of the offence, the client had been experiencing a mental breakdown. Not long before the offence, he had tried to…
February 2021
On February 18, 2021, Trevor Martin’s client, a member of the RCMP, was found not guilty of sexual assault after a trial in Kelowna, BC. After the complainant and the client both testified, the Crown invited the Court to acquit. Cross-examination by Trevor revealed frailties in the complainant’s evidence, while the Crown acknowledged…
November 2020
In November 2020, Elliot Holzman appeared as co-counsel for the respondent in R. v. Langan, 2020 SCC 33. Langan was a Crown appeal, as of right, after the BC Court of Appeal set aside a sexual assault conviction on the basis that the trial judge improperly relied upon a prior consistent statement and erred…
August 2020
In August of 2020, criminal charges were dropped against two of Joe Saulnier’s clients charged with various drinking and driving related charges. Both cases had been set for trial.
One client had been charged in relation to an alleged series of car accidents the police believed was caused by our client driving while…
