If you have been charged with a criminal offence in Salmon Arm or anywhere in the Shuswap, the first few days decide a lot about how the file goes. As a criminal lawyer Salmon Arm clients can reach in under an hour, Julian Van Der Walle drives over from Vernon for court at the Salmon Arm Law Courts and handles impaired driving, assault, drug, bail and firearms charges across the region. Call 1-877-212-9645 for a free, confidential consultation.
LOCAL COURT EXPERIENCE
SICAMOUS TO CHASE
CALL 1-877-212-9645
Criminal charges laid by Salmon Arm RCMP are heard at the Salmon Arm Law Courts on 2nd Avenue NE, which shares a building with city hall. Provincial Court there handles first appearances, bail, summary matters and most trials, and the same registry also runs the court sittings in Revelstoke. Serious indictable files can move up to BC Supreme Court.
Most Shuswap files start in one of a few places. The Trans-Canada through town and along the lake to Sicamous, Highway 97B down toward Enderby and Vernon, a summer weekend at the beach or on a houseboat, or a call to a home in Canoe, Blind Bay or Sorrento. Because Julian’s office is in Vernon, about 45 minutes away, he is close enough to be in the courtroom in person and can meet you face to face if you want to.
A charge in Salmon Arm can cost you your licence, your job and, in a small town, your reputation. Julian reads every page of Crown disclosure, checks the investigation for Charter breaches under sections 8, 9 and 10(b), and keeps an eye on the 18 month Jordan ceiling for Provincial Court.
He then builds the defence around the result you need, whether that is a withdrawal, a stay of proceedings, a peace bond, a discharge or an acquittal. On a summer impaired file that often means the checkstop and the breath tests, and on an assault it usually means the witnesses and any video.
The first conversation is free, by phone, video or in person in Vernon. Julian goes over the charge, your release conditions and any court dates, then requests full disclosure from Crown and tells you plainly whether the file should be resolved early or set for trial.
Julian handles your appearances at the Salmon Arm Law Courts himself, and you deal with him directly the whole way.
It starts with a free, confidential consultation. Julian listens to what happened in Salmon Arm, looks at the charge and the arrest, and gives you a straight read on your options.
Once disclosure arrives, Julian works through the police notes, statements and any video, looking for gaps in Crown's case and Charter breaches that could get evidence excluded.
Julian represents you at the Salmon Arm Law Courts from bail through resolution talks with Crown and, when it is the right call, a full trial.
“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 Van Der Walle defends the full range of criminal charges that come through the Salmon Arm Law Courts, from Sicamous and Malakwa to Enderby, Chase and the North Shuswap. The files he sees most from the area are impaired driving and IRPs, assault, drug charges and breaches of release conditions.
Got an IRP on the Trans-Canada or at a summer checkstop in the Shuswap? You have only 7 days from being served to apply for a review. Learn about IRP reviews.
Drug charges in the Shuswap often come from highway stops and home searches, so how police got the evidence is the first thing Julian tests. Drug charge defence.
From a fight downtown or at a lakeside party to a domestic assault charge, Crown often starts high. Julian looks hard at self-defence and the witnesses. Assault defence.
Charges over texts, social media posts or shared images are often reported by someone you know in a small town. How the phone evidence was gathered is where Julian starts. Computer crime defence.
Firearms charges carry heavy penalties, and in a rural area the details of storage, licensing and the search matter. Firearms offence defence.
If a Salmon Arm trial went the wrong way, an appeal to the BC Court of Appeal has to be filed within 30 days of sentence. Criminal appeals.
Impaired, over 80 and refusal charges from Highway 1 and 97B carry a licence prohibition and a criminal record. Julian challenges the stop, the demand and the breath tests. DUI and impaired driving defence.
Theft, mischief, breach of conditions and other Criminal Code charges laid in Salmon Arm and the Shuswap. Other criminal charges.
Whatever the charge, get advice before you talk to police or make any decisions. The consultation with Julian is free, confidential and comes with no obligation.
Most charges from Salmon Arm and the Shuswap are heard at the Salmon Arm Law Courts on 2nd Avenue NE. The most serious indictable files can move to BC Supreme Court. Julian appears there in person, since his Vernon office is about 45 minutes away.
Local knowledge helps with scheduling, how Crown runs its files and what tends to work at bail and sentencing. Julian is close enough to be in Salmon Arm for the appearances that matter and can meet you in Vernon in between.
You have 7 days from being served to apply to RoadSafetyBC for a review, so act fast. A criminal impaired charge can also follow from the same stop. Read more about IRP reviews.
Most people do. Julian handles many routine Salmon Arm appearances without you there and plans around the dates you really need to attend, so the file does not cost you shifts it does not need to.
Call 1-877-212-9645 or send Julian a message through the contact form. If you have a court date coming up at the Salmon Arm Law Courts or an IRP review window closing, mention it so the consultation is 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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