The defendant brought a motion to stay charges for driving with over 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood and operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, arguing that his Charter right to trial within a reasonable time under section 11(b) had been violated.
The defendant was arrested on December 23, 2015, and the trial was scheduled for October 5, 2017, approximately 21.5 months later.
The court applied the framework established in R. v. Jordan, which sets an 18-month ceiling for trial delays in the Ontario Court of Justice.
After deducting approximately 3.5 months of delay attributable solely to the defence's conduct in awaiting a toxicology report, the court found the operative delay to be 17 months, falling within the Jordan guidelines.
The motion was dismissed.
