Christopher G. Walsh

The appellant was convicted of possessing cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing proceeds of crime following a police investigation that began with a confidential informant tip.

The appellant appealed on grounds that the police violated his Charter rights under sections 8, 9, and 10(b), and that evidence should be excluded under section 24(2).

The Court of Appeal upheld the convictions, finding no violation of sections 8 or 9, acknowledging a section 10(b) breach but finding the evidence admissible under section 24(2) analysis.

The decision concerns the prosecution of Rasim Kaba and Hassan Talebi for importing and possessing opium for the purpose of trafficking, and conspiracy to commit those offences.

The court reviews the evidence, including the defendants' backgrounds, their relationship, the importation process, intercepted communications, and the police investigation.

The court finds both defendants' explanations implausible and concludes that the only reasonable inference is that both knew of the opium and conspired to import and traffic it.

Both are found guilty on all counts.

The appellant appealed convictions for drug and proceeds of crime charges, alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel regarding a s. 8 Charter application challenging the validity of a search warrant.

The appeal focused on counsel's failure to challenge the accuracy of GPS tracking data relied upon by police and counsel's agreement to allow the Crown to introduce amplification evidence from the affiant.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no prejudice from counsel's tactical decisions and upholding the trial judge's conclusion that there were sufficient grounds for the search warrant.

The appellants, Floriano Sylvester Daponte and Vivian Lee Hamilton, appealed their joint convictions for drug trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime.

The convictions stemmed from a search of their farm property where a large quantity of drugs and cash were found.

The appellants argued the trial judge erred in assessing an alternative suspect (Mr. Colpaert), finding his access to the residence speculative, and improperly using their failure to testify.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Daponte's appeal, finding the evidence against him cogent and the trial judge's conclusions reasonable.

However, Ms. Hamilton's appeal was allowed, and acquittals were substituted, as there was insufficient evidence to infer her knowledge or control of the buried drugs, and her connection to the drive shed was tenuous.

The appellant, Brandi Mascarenas, appealed her conviction for importing cocaine.

She had received a controlled delivery of appliances containing cocaine.

At trial, her explanation for her involvement was rejected by the judge, who concluded she was a willing participant.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the trial judge's assessment of knowledge, application of circumstantial evidence principles (R. v. Villaroman), or the burden of proof.

The court found the trial judge's reasons, though not lengthy, were adequate.

The appellant, Justice Okojie, appealed his convictions for importing and possessing heroin for the purpose of trafficking.

The primary ground of appeal concerned when the offence of importing is complete, particularly in controlled delivery scenarios, arguing it was complete before his involvement.

The second ground challenged the reasonableness of the verdict, asserting that his knowledge of the package containing a controlled substance was not the only reasonable inference.

The Court of Appeal dismissed both appeals, clarifying that importing is complete when the contraband is no longer under the control of customs authorities, and upholding the trial judge's finding of knowledge based on circumstantial evidence.

The appellant was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance following a complex multi-party prosecution involving 23 individuals charged on a 65-count information.

The trial took place approximately 41.5 months after the charges were laid.

The appellant appealed on two grounds: first, that the delay breached his Charter rights under s. 11(b) pursuant to the principles established in R. v. Jordan; and second, that evidence obtained from wiretap authorization should have been excluded because the issuing justice for the initial dial number recorder warrants demonstrated reasonable apprehension of bias by providing correspondence to the police officer seeking clarification on the Information to Obtain.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the trial judge correctly attributed the delay and that the delay fell below the presumptive ceiling when accounting for discrete exceptional circumstances, complexity, and transitional circumstances.

The court also found no reasonable apprehension of bias, as the issuing justice's correspondence sought appropriate clarification to assess the reliability of information rather than directing the drafting of the warrant application.

The appellant was convicted of three counts of possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine, MDMA, and marijuana), possession of a prohibited device, and possession of proceeds of crime.

He was sentenced to five years imprisonment, less credit for pre-disposition custody, resulting in a net sentence of 42 months.

On appeal, the appellant challenged: (1) the trial judge's decision to apply section 653.1 of the Criminal Code to bind the parties by a prior ruling refusing leave to cross-examine the ITO affiant; (2) the correctness of that prior ruling; and (3) the trial judge's rejection of the Charter section 8 challenge to the search warrants.

The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal and upheld both the conviction and sentence.

The appellant was convicted of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and related firearms offences following his arrest on March 19, 2014.

He appealed on the grounds that his arrest was unlawful because it lacked reasonable and probable grounds, and that evidence seized incident to arrest should be excluded under the Charter.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, finding that the arrest was lawful based on a reliable confidential informant's tip that was corroborated by independent police observation.

The court also rejected the appellant's argument regarding misapprehension of evidence concerning the seizure of a cellular phone.

The appellant appealed her conviction for importing cocaine into Canada.

She challenged the trial judge's decision to admit statements she made to Canada Border Security officers at the airport.

The appellant argued that she was detained before making these statements and that her Charter rights were engaged, requiring exclusion of the statements.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that the appellant was not detained during routine questioning and luggage searches, and that detention only occurred after x-ray images revealed suspicious tins and the appellant asked what was in them.

The court found no error in admitting the pre-detention statements and dismissed the appeal.