Jeffrey Mazin

The accused, charged with multiple offences including assault, sexual assault, and break and enter against his wife, applied to sever the pre-2014 assault and sexual assault counts from the 2014 break and enter counts.

The court applied the criteria from R. v. Last and found a factual nexus between the charges, as the earlier offences provided context for the later ones.

The court concluded that the interests of justice favoured a joint trial and dismissed the application for severance.

The accused was convicted of trafficking in cocaine (three counts) and trafficking in a firearm by offer.

The defence challenged the constitutionality of the mandatory three-year minimum sentence under Section 99(2) of the Criminal Code as cruel and unusual punishment.

The court found that while the three-year minimum was not grossly disproportionate to the accused's particular circumstances, it would be grossly disproportionate in reasonable hypothetical cases involving young first offenders with minimal culpability.

The court declared Section 99(2)(a) invalid and imposed a total sentence of two years less one day plus three years probation.