The appellants were convicted of possession of cocaine and marijuana for the purpose of trafficking following a jury trial.
They appealed on four grounds: (1) breach of s. 11(b) Charter rights to trial within a reasonable time; (2) erroneous admission of expert opinion evidence from a police officer involved in the investigation; (3) an unreasonable Corbett ruling excluding certain prior convictions; and (4) unfairness in the trial judge's charge to the jury regarding the defence witness.
The Court of Appeal rejected the s. 11(b) argument but found merit in the other three grounds, concluding that the cumulative effect of these errors denied the appellants a fair trial.
