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The court dismissed the Crown's appeal, upholding the trial judge's stay of proceedings for unreasonable delay under section 11(b) of the Charter following the death of defence counsel.
The Crown appealed a trial judge's decision to stay charges against the accused for "Over 80" due to an infringement of the accused's right to trial within a reasonable time under section 11(b) of the Charter.
The appeal focused on the trial judge's calculation of delay, interpretation of a s. 11(b) waiver, and the impact of defence counsel's illness and death.
The Superior Court dismissed the Crown's appeal, finding no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's assessment of the three-month waiver period, the seven-month exceptional circumstance for counsel's illness/death, and the two-month counsel preparation time, which resulted in a net delay exceeding the Jordan presumptive ceiling.
