J. Doody

The Crown brought an application under s. 486(1) of the Criminal Code to exclude the public and media from the courtroom during the testimony of the accused and three other witnesses due to national security concerns.

The accused, a former civilian member of the RCMP, was charged under the Security of Information Act.

Applying the Sherman Estate test for discretionary limits on court openness, the court found a serious risk that classified information could be inadvertently disclosed during cross-examination.

The court granted the order, directing that the public be excluded during the specified testimony, but required that vetted transcripts be released as soon as possible to balance the open court principle with national security interests.

The accused was charged with attempted murder, unlawful confinement, choking with intent, assault causing bodily harm, and sexual assault against his former girlfriend.

The court found the complainant's evidence regarding the core details of the assault and sexual assault to be credible and reliable, despite some inconsistencies and delayed disclosure.

The accused was found guilty of unlawful confinement, assault causing bodily harm, and sexual assault, but not guilty of attempted murder and choking with intent, as the Crown failed to prove the requisite intent for attempted murder and the choking was considered part of the assault.

The Crown appealed the acquittal of the respondent on charges of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level over 80 mg and failing to comply with a recognizance.

The trial judge had excluded evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter after finding breaches of the respondent's s. 10(a) and 10(b) rights.

The respondent was initially arrested for driving while prohibited, but the officer subsequently began an impaired driving investigation without informing the respondent of the change in focus and delayed providing rights to counsel for four and a half minutes while asking incriminating questions.

The Superior Court of Justice found no error of law in the trial judge's findings of Charter breaches and dismissed the appeal.