Defense Counsel And For The Prosecution

It was a drug trafficking case, and C has prior convictions for similar offences. Briefly, the drug investigation branch found C at home with almost $10,000 in cash hidden in his underwear, and flushed remnants of methamphetamine in his toilet. Nick and I were convinced that C needed to plead. However, when it got to trial, * J gave the prosecutor a particularly difficult time because, as it became evident, the prosecutor had effectively no evidence: no samples had been taken from the sink that C had allegedly used to flush drugs down. A trained police dog that had run to the bathroom, and knelt down to indicate the presence of drugs. This came an enormous shock to the courtroom. I had assumed that the prosecution had had some solid evidence to go to trial with, and I believe that Nick had similarly overlooked the lack of evidence. Nick’s client was annoyed and said, “You wanted me to plead guilty!” By a stroke of luck, Nick’s client escaped unscathed. Nick jumped on Her Honour’s observations and a nolle prosequi resulted. This was a valuable lesson for me because I realized that sometimes matters that appear obvious (for example: the absence of evidence) might go unnoticed, even through a number of good hands at the DPP. It is for you, then, as a lawyer, to ensure that the state, at all stages, is held to a high standard. The flipside of this is that it must be incredibly frustrating for a prosecutor