At Elbob & Stephenson Legal, our client was facing serious criminal charges that carried the real risk of imprisonment. The charges included:
Before the first court mention, our experienced criminal defence lawyers immediately identified weaknesses in the prosecution’s case—specifically, doubts around who the primary aggressor was. While not a case of mistaken identity, we raised legitimate concerns regarding the complainant’s version of events and the reliability of the identification of the aggressor.
We made early offers to the prosecution to withdraw several charges, supported by our preliminary analysis. However, those offers were not accepted by police.
As a result, we entered pleas of not guilty to all charges and began a proactive and strategic defence. As part of our case preparation, we obtained the complainant’s bail report, which revealed a pattern of behaviour relevant to the proceedings. Using this material, we served a defence-initiated tendency notice, demonstrating that the complainant had a documented history of violence toward intimate partners.
This strategic use of evidence substantially undermined the prosecution’s case. Upon receipt of our tendency notice, all charges were withdrawn, and the matter was resolved without the need for a contested hearing.
This case highlights the importance of early intervention, deep case analysis, and strategic use of procedural tools to achieve the best outcome for our clients. The client was spared the trauma and uncertainty of a full hearing and walked away without a criminal conviction.
