14. Regina v. D.B. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary – September, 2013]

On Christmas eve the police responded to a complaint of impaired driving and upon their attendance at the scene found D.B. asleep at the wheel of his vehicle in the middle of an intersection. The police arrested D.B. and a subsequent search of his vehicle revealed the presence of a quantity of cannabis marijuana. D.B. got lucky on the DUI as the police were unable to find a breathalyzer technician but they did charge him with possession of a controlled substance contrary to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. As D.B. is well placed in the music industry and travels extensively throughout the United States a conviction for a drug offence would have been professionally devastating. The Crown refused to resolve this matter amicably so a plea of not guilty was entered and a date scheduled for trial. Attempts to resolve this case without the entry of a criminal conviction during the intervening months continued but they too met with negative results. Bottom line: on the date scheduled for trial the Crown discovered that they had insurmountable “service” issues relative to the certificate of analysis; the charge was completely withdrawn.