Risk Yourself To Save Yourself Criminal Conviction?

Reports on this case are rather sparse, but what this news report does not mention is that the driver of the MDX sped away from the scene at a high rate of speed:

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/07/30/10310336-sun.html

Nevertheless, "[Judge] O'Gorman said once gunplay began, the teen would have been aware there was a .45-calibre restricted handgun in the car, which police later found in a hidden compartment.

"From that time on, it would've been impossible for any occupant of that vehicle not to be aware they were in the middle of a firefight," he said.

"Beyond 1:27 a.m. (when the shootout took place), knowledge of a handgun is established beyond a reasonable doubt," O'Gorman said.

Knowledge of the handgun and whether it was "feasible" to exit the motor vehicle are two completely separate questions. The key question is, how much time passed after 1:27am when the shootout took place and the time the youth was located in the motor vehicle and whether it was feasibe in the interim for the young person to extricate himself from an environment where he knew a handgun was present?

Now, my concern is with the message sent to members of the public in a sparse report on a conviction such as this. To be fair, everybody must understand, a journalists written product is often edited to such an extent that large segments of important information are removed to allow the article to fit on a page with other articles and advertisements. In this case, there is just no information about the "feasibility" question.

From reading this case, one might think that knowledge of the handgun was the only important factor. It is not. The interesting aspect of this case concerns whether it was feasible for the young person to safely extricate himself. There is no information in this regard. And since the vehicle he was in was driven by somebody else, and had just been tangled in a gunfight, one wonders whether the young person had a real opportunity to get out?

Jump young man, jump!!!!

David G. Chow
Calgary Criminal Lawyer

http://www.calgarydefence.com/