Cooper Lord

The accused, charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault, sought to exclude two statements made to police on January 3, 2020, and May 4, 2020.

He alleged the statements were involuntary and obtained in violation of his rights under sections 9 and 10(b) of the Charter.

Following a blended voir dire, the court found that the police treated the accused respectfully, no threats or inducements were made, and the accused's Charter rights were not breached during either detention.

Both statements were ruled voluntary and admissible at trial.

The accused, charged with manslaughter and other offences, brought a pretrial application for a stay of proceedings, alleging a violation of his right to be tried within a reasonable time under s. 11(b) of the Charter.

The total delay from the date of the charges to the anticipated completion of the trial was 30 months and 28 days.

The court deducted 4.5 months of defence delay caused by counsel's scheduling inflexibility, bringing the net delay below the 30-month presumptive ceiling.

The court found the defence failed to demonstrate meaningful and sustained steps to expedite the proceeding, and dismissed the application.

The accused, charged with manslaughter and other offences, sought leave to cross-examine the affiant and sub-affiants of an Information to Obtain (ITO) a general warrant.

The accused argued that the authorizing judge was deprived of relevant information regarding the police's operational plan, including the intention to obtain a statement and the use of the Emergency Response Unit.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that cross-examination was not necessary because the arguments regarding the omissions and the use of a youth record could be made based on the evidence already before the court.