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The court dismissed a co-accused's renewed severance application in a murder trial involving cut-throat defences.
This ruling addresses a renewed severance application brought by David Obregon Castro, who, along with co-accused Sarai Lopez-Iglesias, is charged with First Degree Murder.
Both accused intend to present "cut-throat" defences, blaming the other for the victim's death.
The application for severance was renewed after a prior ruling allowed Ms. Lopez-Iglesias to admit evidence of Mr. Obregon Castro's prior discreditable conduct.
The court dismissed the severance application, reaffirming the presumption that jointly charged accused should be tried together, especially when antagonistic defences are present.
The judge found that a single trial would promote efficiency, the truth-seeking function, and reduce the risk of inconsistent verdicts, relying on the jury's ability to follow limiting instructions regarding the use of prior discreditable conduct evidence.
In a joint murder trial, the co-accused were permitted to adduce specific prior discreditable conduct of each other to support their cutthroat defences.
This ruling addresses applications by co-accused David Obregon Castro and Sarai Lopez-Iglesias in a first-degree murder trial to adduce evidence of each other's prior discreditable conduct, given their "cutthroat" defences.
The court applies the balancing test for admissibility of co-accused bad character evidence, which is less stringent than for Crown-led evidence.
Ms. Lopez-Iglesias was permitted to introduce evidence relevant to her state of mind (fear of Obregon Castro), his propensity to commit the crime, and his credibility, including details of the "Z Bar Incident" (shooting), the assault on "Chips" (stabbing), various assaults she suffered from Obregon Castro, and his alleged gang membership (limited to her state of mind).
However, evidence of Obregon Castro's past arson/attempted murder charge (acquitted), claims of torturing "snitches" sexual assault, threats regarding Kyle Watts, a plan to shoot a pawn shop owner, and preliminary inquiry observers was deemed inadmissible due to low probative value outweighed by prejudicial effect.
Mr. Obregon Castro was also allowed to adduce evidence of Ms. Lopez-Iglesias's violence towards him, drug use, and participation in bank frauds to challenge her credibility, but not evidence of trafficking sex workers.
The judge emphasized the necessity of detailed limiting instructions to the jury regarding the use of such evidence.
