The appellant Crown appealed from the Quebec Court of Appeal's affirmation of a stay of proceedings granted by the trial judge.
The accused had been charged with second degree murder in August 2012, with a delay of nearly five years between the charge and the anticipated end of trial.
The Court found that the delay far exceeded the 30-month presumptive ceiling established in R. v. Jordan, holding that the preliminary hearing was not a discrete exceptional event and that its length was not outside the Crown's control.
The transitional exceptional circumstance did not justify the delay, as the case would have warranted a stay under the prior R. v. Morin framework given institutional delay of approximately 43 months.
The trial judge's determination that a stay of proceedings was warranted was upheld.
