Practice Areas

Criminal Law

Mr. Rice has defended a broad range of criminal offences including homicide, assault and firearm charges. He has concentrated throughout his career on the defence of drug cases such as drug possession, trafficking, production and importation. He has successfully acted for clients accused of conspiracy, theft, fraud, possessing proceeds of crime, money laundering and criminal organization offences. He has also defended a wide variety of commercial offences such as breach of trust, secret commissions and regulatory offences. Such cases often require long and complex trials and frequently result in applications to the courts for remedies under the Charter of Rights involving issues of unreasonable search and seizure, arbitrary arrest or detention, the right to counsel on arrest, and the exclusion of evidence. You may read about developments in law and technology on our Blog: On The Wire.

Drug Law

Mr. Rice has extensive experience in defending drug cases including drug possession, trafficking, production and importation. Drug investigations are a specialized area within the broader criminal law involving the use of law enforcement tools that are more advanced than in many other criminal prosecutions. Search warrants, production orders and wiretap authorizations are frequently used by the police in tandem with undercover operatives, informants and sophisticated surveillance. The technological advancements of the digital age have generated increased police use of cell phone tracking and computer searches. The prosecution of drug offences is often done in conjunction with criminal charges such as conspiracy and criminal organization offences. For more information about wiretap law please go to the section titled Privacy.