Criminal Defence
Breach of Conditions Lawyers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
A breach of conditions lawyer defends the charge laid under section 145 of the Criminal Code when a person on release fails to follow a condition of an undertaking or a release order, or misses court. Probation breaches and peace bond breaches are their own offences. The new charge survives even if the original charge collapses, and it changes the next bail hearing. This firm takes these files in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Section 145 Makes a Broken Bail Condition a New Criminal Charge
Section 145 of the Criminal Code covers failing to attend court and failing to comply with an undertaking or a release order. The charge is hybrid, with a maximum of two years on indictment. It is prosecuted on its own footing: a withdrawal or an acquittal on the original charge does not erase the breach.
Probation and Peace Bond Breaches Are Separate Offences
Breach of probation under section 733.1 carries up to four years on indictment. Breach of a peace bond is an offence under section 811. A breach of a conditional sentence order works differently again, through a hearing that can convert the rest of the sentence into custody. Which regime applies decides the exposure, so the first step is identifying exactly which order was allegedly broken.
Contact and Curfew Conditions Produce Most Breach Charges
A no-contact condition is breached by an invited text as easily as an uninvited one, and the other person’s consent is not a defence, because the order belongs to the court. Curfews are breached by shift changes and hospital visits. Abstain conditions are breached by relapse. The right response to an unworkable condition is a variation application, not a quiet exception.
The Crown Must Prove Knowledge and No Lawful Excuse
The Crown must prove the accused was bound by the condition, knew its terms and broke them. The Supreme Court of Canada has held that the breach must be knowing or reckless; an honest misunderstanding of a condition’s scope is a defence, and so is impossibility. Conditions are read as written, and an ambiguous condition is read in favour of the person bound by it.
The Defences a Breach of Conditions Lawyer Runs
Knowledge, lawful excuse and the wording of the condition itself carry most trials. A curfew missed for an emergency room visit, a residence condition made impossible by an eviction, or a message the accused provably did not send each answers the charge. Where the breach is real but minor, the work shifts to resolving it without a fresh conviction.
A Minor Breach Can End Without a New Conviction
Section 523.1 lets a breach that caused no harm to a victim be dealt with at a judicial referral hearing, where the court can tighten or fix the conditions and dismiss the matter instead of adding a charge. Where that route is open on the facts, the defence raises it with the Crown early.
A Breach Reshapes the Next Bail Hearing
A person charged with an offence allegedly committed while on release faces a reverse onus at the new bail hearing, and the Crown can also apply to revoke the existing release. Defending the breach and protecting the release plan are the same job, done together. The bail side of that work is described at bail hearings.
The Firm Defends Breach Charges in Both Provinces
Moncton and Saint John take New Brunswick files and Halifax takes Nova Scotia’s, most of them alongside the underlying charge, often an assault file with a no-contact condition attached. The full charge list is at criminal defence, and the contact page puts you in touch with the nearest office.
The Province Pages
She Texted Me First. Am I Still in Breach?
If the order says no contact, replying is contact. The complainant cannot amend a court order, and a warm invitation has preceded many breach charges. The fix is a variation application, and consent variations are common where the request is sensible.