C. Peters

The accused, charged with second degree murder and aggravated assault, applied for the production of medical and counselling records of the Crown's key witness.

The applicant argued the records were necessary to make full answer and defence, as they related to the witness's credibility, reliability, and inconsistent statements.

The court applied the O'Connor and McNeil frameworks and found the records were likely relevant.

After reviewing the records, the court ordered partial production subject to redactions and strict conditions to balance the accused's right to make full answer and defence with the witness's privacy interests.

The accused, charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault, brought an application to sit at counsel table rather than in the prisoner's dock during his trial.

The defence argued that sitting in the dock carried a stigma and that sitting at counsel table would facilitate communication.

The Crown opposed, citing security concerns and the lack of exceptional circumstances.

The court dismissed the application, holding that the customary position is in the dock, the accused failed to show exceptional circumstances, and there were valid security concerns given his criminal record and outstanding charges for violent offences in custody.

The accused brought an application seeking production of correctional institution records relating to inmate-on-inmate assaults, institutional responses, disciplinary actions, and injuries at a provincial correctional centre.

The request was advanced as either first-party disclosure under Stinchcombe or third-party production under the O’Connor framework to support a proposed defence of duress to a charge of assault causing bodily harm against another inmate.

The court held the records were third-party records and assessed the request under the O’Connor test.

The applicant failed to establish the threshold of likely relevance because the supporting affidavit merely asserted that a defence of duress would be raised and provided no evidentiary nexus between the requested records and the alleged offence.

The application was dismissed as a speculative fishing expedition.