Mitigating Circumstances in Surrey Assault Cases

As much as all of us would like the laws of the land to always be fair-minded and reasonable and black and white, like other things in life, the law and its application has gray areas. Mitigating circumstances are some of those gray areas.

In today’s blog article, we want to talk about what mitigating circumstances are and how they are used in criminal cases, specifically criminal assault cases such as those often found in Surrey, BC.

Mitigating circumstances are additional bits of information that your lawyer will offer up to the court (or judge) to try to influence the court to treat you more leniently than the court might treat someone else having committed the exact same crime. Mitigating circumstances can affect a court’s rulings and penalties related to the accused.

Below are some examples of mitigating factors that could be mentioned as part of a defence:

1. The individual was afraid and felt he/she was acting out of necessity.
2. The individual has a difficult and/or unstable personal history.
3. This is an individual’s first offence.
4. The individual played a minor role in the crime or was not aware of the crime being committed.
5. The individuals shows obvious remorse.
6. The individual is making full restitution for damage done.
7. The individual is struggling with substance abuse or addiction.
8. The accused had reason to believe he/she was acting out of necessity.

The mitigating factors above are just a few possible ones out of a long list, which your lawyer will discuss with you. The defence lawyer will argue all the relevant reasons why the court should be lenient with the accused. The Crown Prosecutor, however, will argue the opposite with examples of why the court should be less lenient and harsher. The courtroom is part of our legal adversarial system, so you will likely hear two sides.

If you are accused of assault in Surrey, hire a Surrey criminal lawyer experienced with assault cases. Do not make any statements to police until you have spoken with your lawyer. You have that right. 

Please contact Gagan Nahal for a free consultation in Vancouver at (604) 527-4769 as soon as possible. Mr. Nahal’s law practice focuses on criminal defence law, and he has extensive experience in this area of the law. 

Gagan Nahal is a criminal defence lawyer based in Surrey, British Columbia, although he has represented clients across Canada. He works vigorously and tirelessly defending his clients. 

If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to Mr. Nahal, please call him directly at (604) 527-4769.