Robert Leigh Canard

Being charged with a criminal offense, however serious, can be one of the most stressful experiences in a person’s life. Aside from the obvious potential for incarceration and fines, a criminal conviction can have ripple effects in a person’s life, ranging from employment consequences to loss of the rights to vote and carry firearms.

Rob began honing his criminal advocacy skills before his first semester of law school, interning with the Office of the Public Defender. That training continued throughout law school, culminating in representing clients in the courtroom as soon as he was able with his third year practice certificate.

Following law school Rob worked at the Pulaski Office of the Public Defender, where he represented over 1,000 clients in just over three years on cases ranging from Trespassing to Aggravated Malicious Wounding. During that time he earned the respect of local judges and prosecutors while gaining the reputation of being a fierce, devoted, and compassionate advocate for his clients who was unafraid to take cases to trial. That willingness earned his clients numerous acquittals, including several by jury.

Rob continues to provide that zealous advocacy to clients now that he's in private practice at Robert L. Canard, PLLC.  When you select Rob to represent you, you can be certain that your rights will be exercised to the fullest and no stone will be left unturned.

Representative Cases:

-Acquittal by jury of Rape of an Incapacitated Victim where the Commonwealth’s Attorney was unable to prove that the Complaining Witness was under the influence of self-administered drugs

-Acquittal by jury of Malicious Wounding and Strangulation where the Complaining Witness changed his story between the initial report, preliminary hearing, and trial

-Acquittal by jury of Assault and Battery of a Law Enforcement where the evidence only supported that Defendant had accidentally fallen on the Officer

-Acquittal by jury of Simple Possession of Amphetamine where evidence tended to show that the Defendant had permission to pick up his girlfriend's prescription for Adderall.

-Acquittal by judge of Driving Under the Influence where the Officer was unable to testify to the results of the Field Sobriety Tests, other than that the Defendant had done “poorly”

-Acquittal by judge of Driving Under the Influence where the Officer failed to ask the Defendant when he had taken his medication, and left him unattended for thirty minutes

-Acquittal by judge of Driving Under the Influence where the client jumped out of the car and chugged and Ice House following the traffic stop

-Acquittal by judge of Indecent Exposure in the New River Valley Regional Jail where the Judge ruled that the Defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the jail shower.

-Acquittal by judge of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor where the Commonwealth’s Attorney failed to prove that the Defendant was over the age of 18.