During a trial for sexual assault, the defence brought an application for a mistrial after the Crown disclosed unredacted text messages mid-trial.
The messages, between the complainant and a potential defence witness, had been previously withheld by the Crown on the basis of irrelevance.
The court found that the messages were relevant to the witness's credibility and should have been disclosed initially under the Crown's Stinchcombe obligations.
Concluding that the late disclosure impaired the accused's ability to make full answer and defence and that no other remedy could cure the prejudice, the court declared a mistrial.
