Every case is unique, but our commitment never wavers. We approach each defence with tenacity, attention to detail, and an unrelenting focus on achieving a successful outcome.
These examples offer a glimpse into how we fight and win for our clients.
Andrew's client was charged with over ten offences related to an intimate-partner relationship turned sour.
Andrew's client was charged with over ten offences related to an intimate-partner relationship turned sour. The complainant claimed she had been subjected to years of abuse at the hands of the accused - despite having no hard evidence to back it up. Given the seriousness of the charges, the Crown would not agree to withdraw or stay the charges in the pre-trial stage.
Andrew met with his client, gathered the evidence that supported his case, and prepared for trial. He again began negotiating with the Crown in the lead-up to trial, strategically pointing out the weaknesses in the prosecution's case. He continued negotiating over the weekend and on the Monday, the first day set for trial, Andrew's client agreed to stay away from his ex (a "peace bond") and the Crown withdrew all charges.
Andrew's client was charged with numerous serious offences arising from a sexual encounter he had with a 15 year-old he met online who told him she was in fact 16.
Andrew's client was charged with numerous serious offences arising from a sexual encounter he had with a 15 year-old he met online who told him she was in fact 16. His client always maintained his innocence but faced a lengthy penitentiary sentence if convicted. He was only a young man and both he and his parents and siblings were very worried.
Andrew used the preliminary inquiry to fully explore the complainant's version of events and set up many critical inconsistencies for use at trial. Although initially set as a jury trial, Andrew and his client made the decision to change their election and proceeded to trial before a judge of the superior court. Andrew prepared meticulously for trial, including a detailed review of all of the complainant's previous statements that drew out her various lies and inconsistencies. After an eight-day trial, the client was found not guilty of all charges and was able to resume his life and career in time for the holidays.
Client was accused of serious sexual assaults and invovled choking and carried the potential for 14 years in prison.
Client was accused of serious sexual assaults and invovled choking and carried the potential for 14 years in prison. This very complex case included multiple complainants as well as voluminous disclosure. Andrew again skillfully used his client's preliminary inquiry to set the stage for numerous credibility impeachments at trial.
His work at the preliminary inquiry was so good that it resulted in the Crown abandoning one complainant's set of allegations prior to trial because they lacked a reasonable prospect of conviction. After lengthy trial preparation, including countless hours spent preparing his client to testify, the trial began and the jury was picked. However, before the evidence got underway, Andrew began negotiating with the Crown, now armed with his trial strategy. These negotiations resulted in all of the serious charges being withdrawn and the client entering a plea to one count of assault and receiving a discharge. His record would then be completely clear in three years' time.
Police executed a search warrant at the client's address and discovered over 20 kgs. of cocaine as well as press and packaging materials, scales and other narcotics paraphernalia.
Police executed a search warrant at the client's address and discovered over 20 kgs. of cocaine as well as press and packaging materials, scales and other narcotics paraphernalia. The investigation had begun with a confidential informant (CI) and surveillance of the client's residence, workplace and associates. The investigation spanned months and involved numerous different production orders served on telecom companies, tracking and general warrants.
Disclosure was very carefully reviewed and many follow-up requests were made for additional disclosure to ensure the defence had every investigative step documented. During the extensive pre-trial stage it emerged that during the investigation police had committed numerous breaches of the client's rights, including conducted illegal video surveillance, the destruction or omission of evidence, and misleading the justices who issued some of the warrants and production orders. Many of these issues were strategically brought to the Crown's attention in the lead up to the preliminary inquiry, culminating in all of the charges against the client being stayed.
Andrew’s client was released pending trial after a hotly contested three-day bail hearing.
Andrew's client was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of possessing a loaded, restricted firearm (handgun), and possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. He was alleged to have fired a handgun at two people he was targeting from a prior dispute. A subsequent police investigation led to his car being stopped where he was found with a loaded handgun and narcotics - he was arrested, held for bail and hired Andrew to secure his release pending trial.
Bigioni Law got to work right away formulating a bail plan. Numerous potential sureties were contacted and interviewed to determine their suitability. From there, many sessions were held to ensure the sureties understood the bail plan, knew how they would enforce it, and had an idea of what questions they would be asked in cross-examination at the hearing. Andrew thoroughly researched the applicable law and helpful legal precedent and filed a written brief of legal argument and case law prior to the hearing.
The bail hearing took place over three days and was hotly contested. The sureties were prepared and held up well under cross-examination. Andrew argued that the client's history of racial discrimination at the hands of state authorities as a Black man - and the related overrepresentation of Black people in Canadian jails - supported his client's release. The Justice of the Peace agreed and found that a strong plan of supervision had been put forward. Andrew's client was released pending trial.
Andrew's client was charged with driving a motor vehicle while his ability to do so was impaired by a drug.
Andrew's client was charged with driving a motor vehicle while his ability to do so was impaired by a drug. The client was involved in a motor vehicle collision on the 401. The Crown alleged that at the time of the accident, his ability to drive was impaired by over-the-counter or prescription medication.
Numerous witnesses testified at trial and said that the accused showed poor driving before the accident and difficulties speaking and balancing once the police arrived on scene. Andrew painstakingly combed the police notes and witness statements provided in disclosure and conducted in-depth research. At trial, he asserted that police breached his client's right to be free from arbitrary arrest, and to be free from unreasonable search and seizure as protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. His skillful cross-examination of the police witnesses elicited exactly the evidence that was needed to prove the breach of his client's rights.
Andrew made both oral and written submissions to the trial judge arguing that, because the breaches were so flagrant and the impact on his client's liberty and privacy was so severe, the trial judge was obligated to exclude the evidence. The judge agreed and excluded the most damning evidence against Andrew's client, leaving the Crown's case in ruins.
The client was charged with numerous offences stemming from a robbery that took place outside of an apartment complex in Scarborough.
The client was charged with numerous offences stemming from a robbery that took place outside of an apartment complex in Scarborough. The Crown claimed that the accused and another male lured an unsuspecting individual by telling them they wanted to buy designer jeans the victim was selling over Kijiji.
The Crown alleged that the accused and his accomplice prepared for the meeting by hiding their firearms nearby the meeting location. When the victim showed up for the meeting, the accused led him to a secluded part of the apartment complex. When they arrived, the accused retrieved their weapons and robbed the victim for his merchandise. Disclosure in the case was extensive. It consisted of multiple police statements made by the victim, countless hours of surveillance camera footage from the apartment complex and surrounding areas, and the results of the executions of numerous search warrants by police.
By taking a careful approach to the disclosure, Andrew was able to determine that the Crown would be unable to prove it was his client who participated in the robbery. Andrew doggedly insisted on this position throughout the pre-trial stage, including over the course of numerous pre-trial conferences with a judge (JPTs). Andrew prepared a brief of the Crown's case that he presented to the Crown attorney in an attempt to persuade him that he had no reasonable prospect of securing a conviction at trial. After months and months of hard work, the Crown saw reason and withdrew all charges against Andrew's client.
When you or your loved one are threatened with the consequences of a criminal charge.
Bigioni Law is a criminal defence firm dedicated to providing each client with expert counsel and personal attention.
