If you have been charged with a criminal offence in Kelowna or anywhere in the Central Okanagan, what you do in the first few days shapes the whole file. As a criminal lawyer Kelowna clients trust with serious charges, Julian Van Der Walle handles defence work at the Kelowna Law Courts from the first bail hearing through to trial.
Julian appears regularly at the courthouse on Water Street, knows how the local Crown counsel run their files, and represents people from Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, Westbank, Glenmore, Rutland and the Mission. He defends impaired driving and DUI charges, assault and domestic assault, drug possession and trafficking, bail hearings, firearms offences, IRP reviews and computer crime.
Call 1-877-212-9645 for a free, confidential consultation with Julian.
LOCAL COURT EXPERIENCE
WEST KELOWNA TO LAKE COUNTRY
CALL 1-877-212-9645
Most criminal charges laid in Kelowna and the wider Central Okanagan are heard at the Kelowna Law Courts at 1355 Water Street downtown. Provincial Court handles first appearances, bail hearings, summary conviction matters and most pleas and trials. More serious indictable charges, and any file where the accused elects a higher court, can move up to BC Supreme Court in the same building.
Knowing the courthouse matters more than people expect. Every registry runs at its own pace, Crown counsel rotate locally, and a Kelowna criminal defence lawyer who already knows the room has an edge over counsel driving in from Vancouver for the day. Most of Julian’s Kelowna files start with a Kelowna RCMP or West Kelowna RCMP investigation, a downtown arrest on Bernard Avenue, or a roadside stop on Highway 97 or Highway 33.
If you or a family member has been arrested and held in custody, the bail hearing usually happens within 24 hours, either at the Kelowna Law Courts or by video from cells. It is called a judicial interim release or show cause hearing, and it is one of the most important moments in the whole file. A strong bail plan keeps a job, a lease and a family routine intact while the charge works its way through court.
Julian handles bail hearings in Kelowna by building a realistic release plan before he stands up, arranging a surety when Crown wants one, and arguing against detention on the primary, secondary and tertiary grounds in section 515 of the Criminal Code. If release conditions are already in place and they are unworkable, such as a no-contact order that keeps you out of your own home, he can apply to vary them. Read more about how a surety helps secure release.
A criminal charge in Kelowna can put your record, your job, your ability to travel and sometimes your liberty on the line. Julian approaches every file the same way. He reads every page of Crown disclosure, examines the police investigation for Charter breaches under sections 8, 9 and 10(b) that could get evidence excluded, and tracks the timeline against the Jordan ceiling of 18 months for Provincial Court. The goal is the outcome you actually need, whether that is a withdrawal, a stay of proceedings, a peace bond, a discharge or an acquittal at trial.
On impaired driving files that usually means testing the approved screening device demand, the breath or blood procedure and the officer’s grounds. On drug files it often means attacking the search warrant or a warrantless vehicle search. The strategy is built around your facts and never pulled from a template.
The first conversation is free. Julian goes over the charge, any disclosure you already have, your release conditions and the court dates coming up. From there the path is clear. He requests full Crown disclosure, reviews it for weaknesses, advises whether to negotiate an early resolution or set the matter for trial, and prepares the file for whichever way it goes.
Most Kelowna cases need at least one or two appearances at the Kelowna Law Courts before they resolve or go to trial. Julian handles every appearance himself, so there is no junior associate reading your file for the first time on the morning of court.
It starts with a free, confidential consultation. Julian listens to what happened, looks at the charge and the circumstances of the arrest, and gives you an honest read on where you stand and what your options are.
Once Crown disclosure arrives, Julian works through the police notes, witness statements and any video line by line. He flags gaps in the Crown's case, procedural mistakes and Charter breaches that could lead to evidence being excluded or the charge being stayed.
Julian represents you at the Kelowna Law Courts at every stage, from bail and pre-trial applications to resolution talks with Crown counsel and a full trial when that is the right call. Every decision is made with your record and your future in mind.
“I sincerely promise and swear that I will diligently, faithfully, and to the best of my ability execute the offices of barrister and solicitor; that I will not promote suits on frivolous pretences; that I will not pervert the law to favour or prejudice anyone; but in all things conduct myself truly and with integrity; and that I will uphold the rule of law and the rights and freedoms of all persons according to the laws of Canada and of the province of British Columbia.”
Julian van der Walle
Julian defends the full range of criminal charges that come through the Kelowna Law Courts. Some files begin with a Kelowna RCMP call to a downtown bar on a Saturday night. Others begin with a checkstop on Highway 97, a search warrant executed at a home in Rutland, or an investigation involving UBC Okanagan students. Every file gets the same treatment. Review the evidence, find the issues and build the defence.
The charges Julian handles most often for Kelowna clients are impaired driving and over 80, assault and domestic assault, drug possession and possession for the purpose of trafficking, and bail hearings for people held after an arrest. Each one is defended on its own facts, by Julian personally.
Got an Immediate Roadside Prohibition at a Kelowna checkstop? You only have 7 days to apply for a review with RoadSafetyBC. Learn about IRP reviews.
Possession, trafficking and production charges in Kelowna often turn on how police got the evidence, which makes the search warrant the first thing to test. Drug charge defence.
From a downtown Kelowna scuffle to a domestic assault charge with a no-contact order, Crown often starts high. An assault lawyer who knows the Kelowna Law Courts can push for a reduced charge, a peace bond or a withdrawal. Assault defence in Kelowna.
Online harassment, unauthorized computer use and intimate image charges come down to technical evidence and how it was seized. Computer crime defence.
Many firearms charges carry mandatory minimum sentences, so the details of storage, licensing and the search matter a great deal. Firearms offence defence.
Conviction and sentence appeals go to the BC Court of Appeal, and the 30 day filing deadline comes up fast. Criminal appeals.
Highway 97 and downtown Kelowna see heavy impaired driving enforcement. Impaired, over 80 and refusal charges are all defendable, and a DUI lawyer starts by challenging the stop, the demand and the device. DUI and impaired driving defence.
Theft, fraud, mischief, breach of conditions and other Criminal Code charges laid in Kelowna and the Central Okanagan. Other criminal charges.
Whatever the charge, start by getting advice from a criminal lawyer who knows the Kelowna Law Courts. The consultation with Julian is free, confidential and comes with no obligation.
It helps to have a criminal lawyer Kelowna Crown counsel already know. Julian is based in Vernon, about 45 minutes up Highway 97, and appears at the Kelowna Law Courts regularly. That means he knows the registry, the local Crown and how bail and trial scheduling actually work in Kelowna. Consultations can be done by phone, by video or in person.
If police hold you after an arrest, you have to be brought before a justice within 24 hours. Crown either consents to release on conditions or asks for detention, and the judge decides based on the grounds in section 515 of the Criminal Code. Having a lawyer with a release plan and a surety ready makes a real difference to the result.
You have 7 days from the date you were served to apply to RoadSafetyBC for a review of an Immediate Roadside Prohibition. Miss that window and the prohibition, the fines and the vehicle impound usually stand. Read more about IRP reviews.
Not always. Depending on the facts and your history, an assault charge can sometimes be resolved with a peace bond, alternative measures or a discharge, none of which lead to a conviction. Getting advice early, before you speak to police or the complainant, gives you the most options.
No. You have the right to speak to a lawyer under section 10(b) of the Charter and the right to stay silent. Be polite, give your name if asked, and say you want to speak with a lawyer before answering questions. Why the right to remain silent matters.
It depends on the charge, how much disclosure there is and whether the file resolves early or goes to trial. The first consultation is free, and Julian will talk through fees with you before you decide anything.
Call 1-877-212-9645 or send Julian a message through the contact form. If you have a court date coming up, a disclosure deadline or an IRP review window closing, mention it and the consultation will be booked around it.
If you have been criminally charged and are not sure what to do, you need to get competent legal representation right away.
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