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 admitted due to the seriousness of the police conduct. The court agreed and, because the Crown had no evidence left to present, an acquittal was entered. Trevor’s client and the police gave very different accounts of the strip search in their testimony. Video evidence had been destroyed, despite a request by defence to preserve it. Mr. Martin cross-examined several police officers and, at the end of the day, the Court preferred the client’s testimony over that of the police.