Ghazala Zaman

The appellant appealed his conviction for trafficking crack cocaine.

The sole issue at trial was identity.

The trial judge was unable to identify the appellant from surveillance photographs but relied on the opinions of police officers who identified the appellant in court.

The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge erred in relying on the officers' opinions, as they had no special knowledge or advantage over the judge in comparing the photographs to the appellant.

The in-dock identification was inherently frail, and the verdict could not be supported by the evidence.

The appeal was allowed and the conviction quashed.

The appellant appealed his conviction, arguing the trial judge erred in assessing his credibility and that of a trainee police officer.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no reversible error.

The trial judge permissibly rejected the appellant's testimony because it contrasted starkly with the senior police officer's account and differed materially from the version suggested by defence counsel during cross-examination.

The trial judge was also justified in attaching more weight to the senior officer's testimony than to the trainee officer's, given the latter's lack of independent recollection and limited experience.

The appellant appealed his conviction for possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

The Crown conceded that the trial judge erred by relying on the appellant's testimony from a pre-trial Charter voir dire to determine guilt at trial.

The appellant argued this error should result in an acquittal due to a lack of evidence linking the drugs seized to the Health Canada certificate of analysis.

The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding a sufficient link, and ordered a new trial based on the trial judge's error.