Client Acquitted By Jury: Possession of the Proceeds of Crime
The client was found not guilty by unanimous jury verdict in a matter which spanned over two years. When a charge of possession of the proceeds of crime is laid, the allegations are usually that the accused was knowingly in possession of money which was derived from some form of criminal activity, such as robbery, fraud, or the sale of illegal drugs. In this case, the client was alleged to knowingly possess a significant amount of money which the police alleged was derived from the sale of cocaine. After cross examining numerous police witnesses and calling the client to testify in his own defence, Mr. MacDonald argued that there was essentially no evidence that the money was the proceeds of crime, certainly not to the standard of proof beyond a reasonable. Every single member of of the jury agreed.