On October 22, 2024 the Crown Prosecution Service dropped all charges against the firm’s client, three days before a pre-trial application was to be argued. The client was charged with serious offences including sexual assault. Defence counsel Trevor Martin and Elliot Holzman challenged the charges on jurisdictional grounds, and also argued that the prosecution amounted…
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On August 2, 2024, Elliot Holzman's client was acquitted of four counts of possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking, and possession of a prohibited device in Nanaimo Supreme Court. The case involved the search of a vehicle and whether the accused was in constructive possession of drugs found within it. Six witnesses testified…
On May 10, 2024, Justice Margot Fleming of the BC Supreme Court acquitted our firm’s client of four counts of theft and fraud against her ex-employer. The decision is reported: 2024 BCSC 1912. Elliot Holzman and Melanie Heathman represented the accused. The trial lasted five days and the Crown called six witnesses as part of…
On April 26, 2024, after a two-week jury trial, the firm’s client was acquitted of all charges arising from an alleged workplace fraud in northern British Columbia. The case had been in either civil or criminal court since 2016. The client was represented by Joe Saulnier and Melanie Heathman.
Joe Saulnier was successful in having over $1.6 million unfrozen and returned to the firm’s client, following a contested application at the B.C. Securities Commission in 2023. The executive director had opposed the return of any assets, which had been frozen since 2019 as part of an ongoing securities investigation. BCSC decision
On March 2, 2024, Elliot Holzman's client was acquitted of alleged sexual offences by a jury in Penticton. The jury heard from four witnesses for the Crown and two witnesses for the defence. The jury rendered its verdict in less than a day.
The firm is thrilled to announce that Trevor Martin has become a partner as of January 1, 2024. Trevor has excelled as a barrister since joining Martland & Saulnier. His practice spans many areas of criminal, administrative and public law, with appearances at all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada, where he achieved…
Trevor Martin and Joseph Saulnier won an important victory at the Supreme Court of Canada in a case that will help to protect fairness and efficiency in jury trials across the country. On October 6, 2023, the Court ruled on the interpretation of section 648(1) of the Criminal Code, which creates an automatic, temporary publication ban over portions…
On July 29, 2023, the firm’s client was acquitted by a jury of second-degree murder and convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter, thereby avoiding the mandatory life sentence for murder. Joseph Saulnier and Trevor Martin defended the client at the three-week jury trial. The client testified that the shooting, which was captured on video,…
Defence arguments prevailed at the Supreme Court of Canada in the Surrey Six murder case. Brock Martland, KC and Elliot Holzman (along with Daniel Song, KC and Jonathan Desbarats) were counsel for Matthew Johnston on the case. The high court addressed the legal test for when the defence can advance Charter of Rights applications in criminal cases, and agreed…
Martland & Saulnier is delighted to announce that Melanie Heathman is joining the firm as an associate. Melanie joins the firm after completing her articles with us this past year. During her articles, she ran (and won) her first summary appeal — on the grounds of a miscarriage of justice. While in law school, Melanie…
On March 6, 2023, the BC Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from sentence brought by Trevor Martin on behalf of his client, a youth. The appeal dealt with two conditions in the client’s probation order. One of these conditions required the client to “follow the rules and regulations” of his residence. The appeals court…
