The Trial of Crown versus Dhanani - Essay Example

?Crown v. Dhanani, of the Parties: Plaintiff: Crown Defendant: Dhanani, Ayaz Place of Trial: The trial was held at the Vancouver Provincial Court located on 222 Main Street. Date of Trial: The trial was heard by the court on October 5th 2012 at 2:00 PM. Courtroom Number and Name of the Judge: The courtroom number was 308 and the presiding judge was R. Low. Level of Court: The trial took place on what is a provincial court level. Facts: The defendant, Mr Ayaz Dhanani, was convicted of fraud as well as breach of his prior conditional sentencing. What transpired was that Mr Ayaz Dhanani sought to have his house refurbished and subsequently sought out a furniture company to accomplish this task. The issue was further complicated when the cheque that Mr Ayaz Dhanani wrote to the furntire company bounced due to insufficient funds available in his account. For writing a bad cheque, Mr Ayaz Dhanani was arraigned and served a brief period of time in jail. After which, he was released on a conditional sentence. During the period of his conditional sentence, Mr Ayaz Dhanani was found by authorities at the Shangri-La hotel. When apprehended, Mr Ayaz Dhanani was consuming large quantities of expensive liquors and had a very large sum of cash on his person as well as in the hotel’s vault. He was subsequently taken into custody and pleaded guilty to all charges. Procedural History: Mr Ayaz Dhanani (the defendant) was subsequently convicted of fraud and sentenced to serve jail time. Once he was released from detention, his conditional sentence placed restrictions on his mobility and certain freedoms. Due to the fact that he flagrantly violated these conditions, he violated his conditional release and was subsequently taken back into police custody. Issues: Did Mr Ayaz Dhanani violate his conditional sentencing? Decision: Mr Ayaz Dhanani was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to one day in prison. In addition to this jail time, the court also ordered Mr. Ayaz Dhanani to perform an unspecified amount of community service. Reasons: Judge R. Low’s decision was subsequently based on the following two reasons. 1) Mr Dhanani did not seem to appreciate the importance and gravity of the conditional sentence which he was given and was “living large” in the face of it. 2) Mr Dhanani did not seem to grasp the seriousness of his crime as it related to what he had done to his parents. The argument that the crown prosecutor pursued with relation to this case hinged upon the fact that Mr Ayaz Dhanani was found to be drinking alcohol that was in excess of $60 dollars per glass. At the same time, he was staying in what could only be deemed a luxury hotel. In addition to violating the terms of his conditional release, Mr Dhanani was in personal possession of a very large sum of sequentially numbered US bills ($12,000.00). Thus this provided even further evidence of a breach of his conditional sentencing. Likewise, the argument that the prosecution eloquently made was that due to the fact that Mr Ayaz Dhanani’s parents had already been forced to sell their house in order to pay for the debts incurred by their son, the money that was found in the hotel vault of the Shangri-la should have immediately found its way back into the hands of his parents. The fact that this did not occur coupled with the fact that Mr Ayaz Dhanani was apprehended while “living large” was yet another proof that the good faith conditional release was not respected by him. The judge further stated that due to the lack of lessons learned coupled with his “unwillingness to be mature”, the court was left no choice but to put him into custody. The defence was left to argue, rather weakly one might add, that the result of the lavish accommodations and drinks that Mr Dhanani was enjoying were the result of his female friend who was paying for these. Furthermore, the defense argued that the money that was found in the safe was not a pertinent legal concern. Ratio: Specific: A conditional sentence is meant to be followed implicitly as well as explicitly to the full letter of the law. General: The generalities that govern conditional release apply to everyone; regardless of their particular situation. Dissent: None Implications and Significance: This case did not set a specific precedent to be followed by subsequent trials and bears little if any significance other than that implied by its decision to the defendant and his family. Likewise, the trial of Mr Ayaz Dhanani was very standard in the realm of criminal justice proceedings. Due to the fact that the defendant pleaded guilty to all charges, there was little if any contention that existed between defense and prosecution. Likewise, the judge presented an extremely clear ruling in both instances; leading one to wonder as to the judgement of the defendant with regards to why he chose to violate the ruling the first time. The judge used the vehicle of sentence explanation and judgement to speak directly to the defendant and the parents; reminding them that although a parent’s love is unconditional, it should not be taken advantage of. Although I agree with the judge’s ruling and the style that it was given in, I do not agree with the concept behind the judge’s explanation of “unconditional love”. Due to the fact that the parents of Mr. Ayaz Dhanani had likely been bailing him out of difficult situation after difficult situation for his entire life, this is the most likely reason why he finds himself accused of such an immature act notwithstanding the fact that he is now 31 years of age. Furthermore, a more appropriate topic to breach with the accused would have been the fact that his age should necessarily reflect his personal responsibility as he is far removed from the time when his parents should have to intervene on his behalf. In the end, Mr Dhanani was guilty without dispute. Therefore, the judge effectively determined his fate. The judge therefore took the opportunity to provide a bit of advice to the accused prior to dismissing him to serve his sentence. It is the hope of those involved as well as those that were witness to the proceedings that the advice and prescriptions of the judge will be followed with more diligence this time. Read More