Case Summary
Single mother Linda Huffman worked at Swan’s Wine and Beer Shoppe in Victoria, British Columbia. Part of her job was making night deposits at a nearby Royal Bank branch. In September 1992, she was charged with stealing $2,247 on the basis that the bank had no record of two night deposits that Huffman had said she previously made. She was fired from her job.
At trial, Huffman claimed that she had taken the two deposits to the bank. However, the jury found Huffman guilty on one count of theft.1 She was sentenced to 60 days in custody, most of which was served on electronic monitoring that effectively confined her to her house. While Huffman did not receive a long sentence, she said that the conviction had a lasting impact. Huffman lost her job, friends, and her freedom. Forced to go on welfare, Huffman had to send her 13-year-old daughter to live with her ex-husband. She had to move out of her home, and had difficulties finding jobs with a criminal record. She explained: “My good name felt like it was gone. Everyone doubted you. You feel like you've sort of been destroyed.”2
About three years later, the police were investigating the continued disappearance of deposits from other branches of the Royal Bank. Ultimately, they caught a disgruntled Brink's employee stealing deposits. He was convicted of 17 thefts and sentenced to one year imprisonment. He was never charged with the theft of Huffman’s deposits, but two police officers, including the one who initially arrested Huffman, contacted the Crown prosecutor about the case. Huffman’s lawyer said that Sergeant Tregear “was going to fight to the death to make sure this case was straightened out, and he did.” Sergeant John Hartley, a 20-year veteran of the Victoria police who had originally arrested Huffman, said: “There shouldn't be anyone in the system who's there when they are innocent… You don't find many police officers who want to convict the wrong people."3
Linda Huffman appealed her conviction with the free legal assistance of her lawyer Dennis Murray. The BC Court of Appeal concluded: “The reality of a perception of injustice is obvious. The Crown, with its usual fairness and in the interests of justice, has consented to the court's consideration of this fresh evidence and supports the repair of a miscarriage of justice which has unknowingly occurred.”4 The court allowed her appeal and entered an acquittal.
In 1997, four years after Huffman’s conviction, she was awarded $100,000 from the BC government in compensation. Huffman said she had not been able to obtain a job because of her theft conviction and that “it's sort of like I lost four years of my life.” She remained optimistic, however, because “there are still good people out there. Have faith.”5