CASE STUDY: Acquittal of Charges Related to Domestic Assault

Mr. B and a former partner of his, Ms. C—with whom he’d had a long and complicated off and on again relationship—were deeply embroiled in a messy and deeply painful custody battle through the family court system over their children. Throughout that dispute, Ms. C made very damaging accusations of Domestic Assault. Mr. B holds that these accusations were made for leverage over custody of their children, and would deprive him of the chance to be there for them as they grew up.

The goal going into things was to get an acquittal because Mr. B contended that the allegations made against him were untrue and did not reflect the reality of the situation. An acquittal would also help his chances in the family court system.

Both Mr. B and Ms. C were telling similar stories, for the most part only differing in their accounts of which one of them was the aggressor. Ms. C also had pictures of the aftermath of their altercation. Going into things, Mr. Hume was well aware of these facts and sought to reveal to the judge the truth of the matter by ensuring both parties took the stand to testify so that Mr. B’s honesty would be on full display. Thus forcing the Crown to face the strict burden of proof that was achievable for their side as the doubts and inaccuracies in Ms. C’s testimony became evident.

In the end, through Mr. Hume’s efforts, the trial ended on the same day it began. Mr. Hume was successfully able to focus the trial on the “he said/she said” of the matter, and Mr. B’s accounting of events was more convincing than the complainant’s. The details were revealed to be unclear and murky, and so the judge was not satisfied that there was enough evidence to convict. That day, Mr. B was acquitted thanks to the efforts of Mr. Hume, and the harmful accusations made against him would not prevent him from having a chance at securing custody of his children.