A battle tested advocate

Being charged with a criminal offence can affect your freedom, your family, your job, your reputation, and your future. No matter how serious, complex, or unpopular your charges are, Luke Faught at Whitehorse Law, is a battle-tested advocate that can give you a powerful defence in any and every Yukon courtroom.

Luke spent his legal training and early career in Crown Prosecutors’ offices in Ontario and Alberta, learning the game from nationally-renowned titans of criminal trial practice and legal scholarship.

Straight talk. Strategic action.

Let Luke put that experience to work in service of your legal defence.

A common expression in poker is that you don’t play your hand, you play your opponent’s hand. Luke analyzes your case from both sides to build a legal strategy that provides you the absolute maximum legal protection at every stage of a criminal case.

We handle a wide range of criminal & quasi-criminal chargeS

Driving Offences

Impaired driving/ driving over the limit; drug-impaired driving; dangerous driving; flight from police; driving while disqualified

Sexual Offences

Sexual assault; sexual interference; distribute intimate images without consent; internet luring; create/ distribute/ possession/ access of illegal material; voyeurism

Weapons Offences

Possession of prohibited/ restricted firearms; invalid PAL; discharge firearm with intent; possession of weapon for dangerous purpose; assault with a weapon

Assault

Domestic violence; aggravated assault; assault with a weapon; assault by choking; causing bodily harm

Breach of Court Orders

Recognizance; undertaking; probation order; no-contact order; firearms prohibitions; driving suspensions

Drug Charges

Simple possession; possession for the purpose of trafficking; distributing; importing; production; proceeds of crime

Financial Crimes

Theft; fraud; embezzlement; uttering forged documents; employee theft/ fraud; possession of money obtained by the commission of a crime

Traffic Ticket Defence

Careless driving; speeding; driving without a license; drive while suspended; demerits

Wildlife Offences

Hunting charges (wrong zone, wrong season, wrong sex); false statements to Conservation Officers; illegal trafficking of wildlife; wasting edible meat

Other regulatory/territorial/quasi criminal charges

Waters Act; Parks and Land Certainty Act

Luke’s strategic approach to the case

Your rights matter

We will never waive them unless it is in your strategic interest to do so, and only after we have explored all the options.

Disclosure

Luke’s work starts with getting a complete copy of the State’s evidence file against you. The legal term for this is “disclosure”.

Deploying his extensive experience as a Crown Prosecutor, Luke will carefully analyze every single piece of evidence and the state of the law to give you a case diagnosis that answers the following questions:

Is the Crown’s case against you strong or weak?
Do you have legal defences? What are they? Are they strong or weak?
Does the case against you rely on witnesses whose truthfulness or accuracy can be challenged? How do we challenge them?
Was any of the Crown’s evidence against you collected from a breach of my legal rights (unreasonable search, illegal arrest, failure to give you access to a lawyer?)
What are the odds?
What are the options?
Should we take the case to trial?
Should we try to negotiate a good result with the Crown Prosecutor without the need to go to trial?

Compassionate & Plain-spoken

All strategy sessions with Luke’s clients are conducted in plain language. The mark of a great lawyer is someone who makes complicated options easy to understand, not the other way around.

Impact of Criminal charges

Reputation

Criminal convictions carry a stigma. The Yukon is a small place and your reputation and good name is extremely important.

Current and Future Work

Some employment requires you to pass a criminal history check. For example: If you want to work with seniors, children, or other vulnerable sectors of society, a criminal record for a violent offence might prevent you from doing so. Same with a criminal record for an offence related to property or dishonesty, and employment that requires you to handle money.

Travel

A criminal record can affect your ability to visit other countries. Pending charges generally do not.

No-Contact Orders

If you are found guilty of an offence against another person, you may be placed on an order to stay away from them and not contact them in any way, which can be a serious restriction on your liberty.

Immigration Consequences

If you are a foreign national in Canada on a student permit or work permit, or if you are a permanent resident, your status in Canada may be at risk if you are convicted.

Driving Suspensions

Most convictions for driving offences are followed by automatic or discretionary driving suspensions under the Criminal Code. In addition, Yukon legislation imposes additional suspensions and demerits as a result of certain criminal driving convictions

Firearms Prohibitions

A ban on possessing firearms can seriously jeopardize your ability to hunt for subsistence in the Yukon, and there are no exceptions for personal protection.

Ban on Accessing the Internet

If you are convinced of certain sexual crimes or you used the internet to assist in committing a crime, you could face a ban on accessing the internet. This is a devastating restriction of liberty in our digital society.

Sex Offender Registry, “no pools or schools” Orders

These are commonly imposed in cases involving sexual assault, and/ or the exploitation of young people.