In the highly anticipated case of R v. Kidane, heard at the Superior Court of Justice in June 2013, the accused faced a charge of armed robbery with a firearm. On its face, the Crown's case appeared airtight, with three members of the Toronto Police testifying as eyewitnesses to the alleged offence.
The allegations were that the robbery occurred within about twenty feet of a surveillance van in which the three officers were conducting an unrelated stakeout. The officers had recorded their observations and testified accordingly at the preliminary inquiry. On the first day of the jury trial, the co-accused pleaded guilty to a seven-year penitentiary sentence, but Robb's client chose to proceed.
Through careful and skillful cross-examination of the police witnesses, Robb MacDonald exposed startling inconsistencies in their accounts. Reasonable doubt was raised, and a case that had seemed unwinnable was won. The accused was acquitted of all charges.