The Crown applied for certiorari with mandamus in aid, seeking to compel a preliminary inquiry judge to commit the accused, Terrence Barrett, for first-degree murder.
The preliminary inquiry judge had committed Barrett for second-degree murder and aggravated assault, but declined to commit for first-degree murder, finding insufficient evidence of planning and deliberation.
The Superior Court reviewed the preliminary inquiry judge's limited weighing of circumstantial evidence, concluding that she had properly instructed herself on the law and did not commit any jurisdictional error by finding the evidence insufficient to support planning and deliberation.
The Crown's application was dismissed.