Your Aggravated Assault Lawyer Serving Brampton
Nirwal Law, located in Brampton and led by criminal defence lawyer Manbir Nirwal, focuses exclusively on safeguarding your rights and protecting your future. Knowing the stakes are high, Manbir brings extensive courtroom experience and a results-driven approach to your case.
Manbir takes a strategic and a personalized approach to every case. Whether the charge is minor or serious, Manbir is committed to achieving the best possible outcome for you. Your defence begins here!
Have You Been Charged with Aggravated Assault?
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When you find yourself in handcuffs and charged with aggravated assault under Section 268 of the Criminal Code, your version of what happened is irrelevant. You’re looking at a straight indictment offence that can carry up to 14 years of incarceration, and it is the most severe form of non-fatal assault charge across all of Canada. When you enter a Toronto, Brampton or any other Ontario courtroom with this charge, the Crown attorney office will have every obligation to take away your freedom for many years.
Bail for Aggravated Assault Charges
You won’t likely be released on an undertaking from the police station. You’ll likely need to prepare for an actual bail hearing in Brampton before a justice of the Peace.
Likewise, Crown attorneys will typically pursue both the primary grounds (risk to public safety/risk of re-offending), and the secondary ground (maintaining confidence in the criminal justice system).
Before entering that bail courtroom, you should have a solid game plan:
- Good surety: a person with clean record/equity/savings/good authority over you: parent/spouse/friend/employer etc.
- Residential requirements: most likely reside w/ surety – house arrest/curfew restrictions
- Complete ban on communication with complainant/witnesses/co-accused: Zero contact orders
Losing your bail hearing will have you detained at provincial detention centers such as: Toronto south detention center/ Maplehurst correctional facility/etc. While your assault lawyer wrangles Crown disclosure. Securing bail preserves your employment/family and allows us time to develop your defence.
Aggravated Assault vs. Assault Causing Bodily Harm
Many individuals confuse these two Charges. Here is an example; let’s say you walked into a fight at square one bar, got into a fight with someone and punched them hard enough to knock them down to the floor. You may be wondering how this is considered aggravating.
Legal definitions of each point – Wounds. Mafems. Disfigures. Endangers life.
All listed items within Section 268 of the Criminal Code.
If the Crown identifies a breakage of the skin as a cut through the tissue or a long-term scarring then they classify the injury as a wound/disfigurement. They identify a permanent loss of function to a fractured bone as maiming. If there was major blood loss, head injuries resulting in unconsciousness or internal bleeding they will include ‘endangers life’. Important note – there is nothing on that list indicating your intentions.
This comes as a shock to most individuals. You did not intend to hit the other individual in the head. You swung one punch and threw it because you were upset, off-balance, and punched back. The other guy simply fell back and knocked his head on the pavement.
To you this is merely a fight. However, Crown medical reports later identify a sub-dural hemorrhage in the other guy’s head. This transforms a normal assault charge into an indictable offence with a potential punishment of 14 years.
The Supreme Court ruled on this principle in a case entitled R. v. Godin; “therefore, where there was an intention to commit an “ordinary” assault by the actions taken by the accused, the Crown need not prove the accused’s intention/knowledge that his actions would result in a wound, maim or disfigurement, but that the accused should have reasonably been able to appreciate that his actions carried a risk of causing bodily harm to the victim.” The results of the attack often provide much of the Crown’s proof.
How We Defend Aggravated Assault Charges
We do not simply attack other people’s testimonies to see which ones stick. Judges can easily determine which of these is merely an attempt at post-facto rationalization. Instead we build our defences with facts and evidence and through sharp cross examination.
Primary defence strategy 1: self-defence (Section 34)
Self-defence is a large and complicated legal area. In addition to waiting until you’ve actually been physically assaulted before acting to protect yourself, you can use self-defence if you genuinely believe that some form of force is being applied against you or is about to be applied against you, you only intended to defend yourself or another person, and you only employed force in a manner that was suitable for the circumstances.
What determines reasonableness in regards to force? the court looks at your physical stature, your physical strength and your sex/gender; if you and/or the alleged perpetrator have previously interacted with each other; if weapons were involved; and finally if your reaction was commensurate with what you were defending yourself against. Using a bottle to deflect a knife during a street fight is an example of utilizing a reasonable level of self-defence – even though you caused extreme injury.
Primary defence strategy 2: Consent in consensual fights
Is it possible for an adult to give their Consent to a fight? Yes!
Can adults Consent to an aggravated assault? No! According to law.
Consent applies to a “knock-down-drag-out” fistfight according to R v Jobidon. However, once you’ve formed the specific intention of inflicting (and do inflict) serious bodily harm on the other party, then Consent disappears.
Adults can provide their Consent for a mutually consensual and hand-to-hand combat type situation. Furthermore, if the serious injury occurred due to an unintentional heavy blow rather than as a result of your specific intention, this may allow for the challenge of proving the mens rea required for assault via Consent.
Primary defence strategy 3: causation & medical evidence
Were your actions responsible for creating the specific aggravating injury?
Don’t simply accept everything in police summary as fact! We obtain full unedited medical records (not discharge summaries) including EMS report/triage notes/CT scans/surgeon notes etc…
If the injured party had any pre-existing medical conditions or if their injuries were further damaged during treatment (second fall after cessation of fighting) we will completely dismiss causation.
Defeating aggravated assault Charges successfully
Victory is not always guaranteed at trial (although it is generally the ultimate objective when applicable).
Some clients achieve success when negotiating with Crown before trial. Some clients succeed in obtaining surveillance video footage/new third party eyewitnesses/outrageous police notes etc… That contradict Crown’s theory of what happened. Thus, we are able to successfully negotiate with Crown for reduced Charges. By doing so, we can facilitate achieving a conditional discharge or non-custodial sentence that saves you from having to spend years incarcerated in federal prison as well as preserve your life as you knew it.
Other times success comes from making Charter applications under sections 8 (unreasonable search and seizure) or 10(b) (right to counsel) – both allow us to exclude important prosecution evidence or even your own pre-police interview statement.
Why Clients Choose Manbir
Manbir Nirwal is the founder and lead lawyer at Nirwal Law, offering exclusively criminal defence services across Ontario. With a deep understanding of the justice system and a proven track record, Manbir is committed to defending your rights and achieving the best possible outcome for your case. What Sets Manbir Nirwal Apart:
Experience – Having appeared in various Jurisdictions throughout Ontario, Manbir is familiar with the intricacies of the criminal justice system. He brings this deep knowledge to each case, ensuring your defence is crafted with care and precision.
Communication – From the moment you reach out to Nirwal Law, you’ll have direct access to Counsel Manbir Nirwal. He prioritizes clear, consistent communication and is often available for evening and weekend appointments to accommodate your schedule. With 24/7 availability, Manbir ensures you’re never left in the dark about your case.
Tailored Defence Strategies – Every client and every case is different. Manbir takes the time to fully understand your situation and craft a defence plan that is uniquely suited to your needs, maximizing your chances of a favorable result.
Manbir Nirwal
Manbir Nirwal
Manbir Nirwal is the founder and lead lawyer at Nirwal Law, offering exclusively criminal defence services across Ontario. With a deep understanding of the justice system and a proven track record, Manbir is committed to defending your rights and achieving the best possible outcome for your case. What Sets Manbir Nirwal Apart:
Experience – Having appeared in various Jurisdictions throughout Ontario, Manbir is familiar with the intricacies of the criminal justice system. He brings this deep knowledge to each case, ensuring your defence is crafted with care and precision.
Communication – From the moment you reach out to Nirwal Law, you’ll have direct access to Counsel Manbir Nirwal. He prioritizes clear, consistent communication and is often available for evening and weekend appointments to accommodate your schedule. With 24/7 availability, Manbir ensures you’re never left in the dark about your case.
Tailored Defence Strategies – Every client and every case is different. Manbir takes the time to fully understand your situation and craft a defence plan that is uniquely suited to your needs, maximizing your chances of a favorable result.
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