Bernard James Cummins

Paul Tranter, a Staff Sergeant with the Waterloo Police Service, was charged with assault causing bodily harm to Jamie McFadyen during a booking process.

The defense argued the force used was justified under section 25 of the Criminal Code to prevent injury to another officer.

The court found that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the force used was objectively unnecessary, unreasonable, or disproportionate, considering the volatile circumstances and the perceived threat to the officer.

Tranter was found not guilty.

The accused was charged with an Over 80 offence following a RIDE program stop.

The accused alleged that the arresting officer steered him towards duty counsel after arrest, thereby breaching his constitutionally guaranteed right to counsel of choice.

The Crown conceded that steering occurred but argued it did not constitute a breach.

The court found that the officer's imprecise and careless communications misled the accused about the scope of his right to counsel of choice.

The officer failed to provide reasonable opportunities to contact alternative counsel and failed to adequately respond to the accused's expressed dissatisfaction with duty counsel.

The court found a breach of section 10(b) of the Charter and excluded the breath test evidence, resulting in an acquittal.

A young person was charged with operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level over 80 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood and with having a blood alcohol concentration above zero as a novice and young driver.

The defendant challenged whether his right to counsel was breached, alleging he was funneled to duty counsel.

The court found no breach of section 10(b) of the Charter.

The defendant was properly informed of his right to counsel through the standard caution, understood that right, and was appropriately offered duty counsel when he indicated he did not have a lawyer.

The court rejected arguments that non-compliance with section 146 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act regarding statements rendered the breath samples inadmissible, as breath samples are not statements and section 146 compliance is not a Charter requirement.

The defendant was convicted on all three counts, with one charge stayed pursuant to the Kienapple principle.

Robert Hansen, a Detective Constable with the Hamilton Police Service, was convicted of perjury and two counts of attempt to obstruct justice for knowingly making false statements in an Information to Obtain a Search Warrant and encouraging an informant to plant a firearm.

The court considered aggravating factors, including breach of trust, planned and deliberate actions, and the intention to implicate an innocent person, and mitigating factors such as no prior record, loss of employment, and difficult protective custody.

The Crown sought a six-year sentence, while the defence sought sixteen months.

The court imposed a global sentence of five years' incarceration, emphasizing denunciation and general deterrence for police officers who breach public trust and undermine the administration of justice.

A physician pleaded guilty to uttering forged prescriptions, theft of prescription forms, possession of hydromorphone for trafficking, and fraud involving the Ontario Drug Benefit Program.

The offences occurred between January 2012 and August 2014.

The accused was a family physician struggling with severe substance addiction who obtained controlled substances through forged prescriptions and fraudulently claimed reimbursement from government drug plans.

The court imposed a two-year penitentiary sentence followed by three years' probation, balancing denunciation and deterrence against rehabilitation and the accused's genuine efforts to address her addiction.