DENIED
LEGAL
AID?
You Have Come to The Right Place
Good Shepherd Lawyers exists to assist individuals who have been charged with a criminal offence, but denied legal aid. Our hourly rate is heavily discounted, on some occasions, up to a 90% discount (For example, instead of $400/hr. you might pay $50/hr).
However, since we cannot assist all who apply, preference will be given to those seeking:
- Disclosure Review / Opinion letters;
- Applications to review / change their conditions of bail;
- Applications for the appointment of counsel (i.e., Rowbotham applications)
- Remedies for violations of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
- Appeals from sentence / conviction.
Our Services
Disclosure Review / Opinion Letter
Disclosure review and the opinion letter are the foundations of any solid defence. By reviewing the State's case against you, Charter violations, evidentiary issues, and possible defences can be identified. Once identified, you can then make an informed decision as to how you would like to proceed.
Bail Reviews
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees everyone the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause. That being said, often, the conditions imposed upon individuals are overly restrictive, and unnecessary to address the statutory criteria for detention. Bail reviews are one way to address, and change such conditions.
Rowbotham Applications
Rowbotham applications are applications to receive a court-ordered attorney for those who have been denied Legal Aid.
Charter Applications
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is supposed to be the supreme law of the land. As such, all laws and government agents are subject to its authority. Most importantly, if and when a government agent infringes upon/denies an individual’s right and/or freedom, that individual may apply to obtain a remedy from the court. Such remedies can include the exclusion of evidence, declarations that a law (or parts of a law) are unconstitutional, monetary awards, stays of proceedings, etc.
Appeals / Trials
Appeals from conviction and/or sentence require solid legal justification as to why the trial judge was wrong (most often, an error of law). Appeals are challenging and can be technically complex. Although a daunting process, the appeal process is integral to the administration of justice in Canada.
Fees
As previously mentioned, Good Shepherd Lawyers exists to assist those individuals who have been charged with a criminal offence(s) but denied legal aid. Our hourly rate is heavily discounted (on some occasions up to a 90% discount). However, the total cost of each case will depend on a number of factors, including the complexity matter, the number of services requested, costs for disbursements (e.g., costs for transcripts, mileage, experts, investigators, photocopying, binding, service of applications, etc.), HST, etc.