Client Facing Several Charges Freed From Jail

Nearly a year of imprisonment in one of the country’s worst jails came to an end for the client when Tyler MacDonald successfully applied to the Superior Court of Justice to have him released. 

The client was arrested in late December of 2011 on charges of possessing cocaine and marihuana for the purpose of trafficking, as well as breaches of the conditions of his bail. Including these new charges, the client faced previous outstanding charges. He faced a total of 16 different charges from several different incidents of alleged criminal activity, including robbery, assault, extortion, failing to attend court, breaching bail, possession of the proceeds of crime, and drug charges. The client could not get bail at the time given all the charges that he faced, and was therefore forced to stay in custody at the Toronto Don Jail.

Over the next ten months, defence lawyer Tyler MacDonald and his partners worked to defeat as many of the charges as possible. Doing so quickly was extremely difficult in our overcrowded criminal justice system, especially given that the client’s charges were proceeding in many different courthouses within Toronto. Even so, by November of 2012, more than half of the charges had been dealt with in the client’s favour. The client still potentially faced years of delay in dealing with the remaining charges, so it was time for Mr. MacDonald to get him freed from the Don.

At the hearing of the application for bail in Superior Court, after Mr. MacDonald mustered extensive written materials and legal arguments in support of the client’s release, the presiding judge agreed within minutes that the client should be granted bail. The client regained his liberty, and is now in a much better position to work with his lawyer toward defeating the remaining charges.