The Importance of Forensic Evidence in an Assault Case

The role and the importance of forensic evidence in an assault case will vary on a case-by-case basis. In today’s blog article, we will address why forensic evidence may or may not be important.

What kind of assault?

One issue is the type of assault and the type of charge. If someone pushes you in a grocery store line, then there is unlikely to be any forensic evidence collected. However, if an assault victim is in the ICU teetering between life and death, then greater efforts will be made to try to collect forensic evidence.

Is there any forensic evidence?

If an assault takes place in a hotel room, and the room has been cleaned by hotel staff before evidence collection can occur, then there will be no valuable forensic evidence collected. A serious assault may have been committed, but there are plenty of factors that may hinder collecting this evidence such as a major rainstorm following an assault in a park.

Most criminal trials including those for assault do not have a lot of forensic evidence. These are called circumstantial cases. As much as we would all love lots of forensic evidence, there may not be any or there may not be any of value because it has already been compromised.

So, a defence lawyer has to decide if there is any forensic evidence worth pursuing and whether there is a budget for finding someone. You should always rely on your defence lawyer to make these decisions. He or she will know better than you what type of evidence should be used in your case for your defence. 

If you have been charged with assault, 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.