Lawyer's Fabrication of Evidence Conviction Upheld by BC Court of Appeal
Reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Court of Appeal upholding the convictions against a former BC personal injury lawyer relating to “fabrication of evidence“.
Today’s case (R v. Zoraik) involved a personal injury lawyer who lost a claim on behalf of a client before a judge and jury. Following the jury decision dismissing the claim an envelope was found at the local courthouse stating that one of the jurors was “offered money for her vote in court“. Ultimately the accusation made in this letter was found to be baseless and its creation was attributed to the Plaintiff’s lawyer.
The lawyer was criminally convicted of public mischief, obstruction of justice and fabrication of evidence. The BC Court of Appeal upheld the convictions concluding the verdict was “firmly grounded in compelling evidence, which, when accepted by the judge, formed a solid evidentiary basis for the convictions on the three counts“. The Court of Appeals reasons for judgement can be found here.