Kozak

The appellant was convicted of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking after police found crack cocaine in the bathroom of an apartment she shared with a co-occupant.

The appellant had been absent from the apartment for 32 hours prior to the search.

The trial judge convicted the appellant based on circumstantial evidence establishing constructive or joint possession.

On appeal, the appellant argued the verdict was unreasonable and the trial judge misapprehended the evidence.

The Court of Appeal (majority) dismissed the appeal, finding that the trial judge made no palpable and overriding error and that the circumstantial evidence supported the inference of knowledge and control.

Following the dismissal of the appellant's appeal regarding the right of limited partners to vote on the election of a new general partner, the parties were unable to agree on costs.

The Court of Appeal fixed costs on a partial indemnity basis, awarding $17,000 to Chalmers, $8,000 to the liquidator, and $5,000 to the respondent, plus disbursements and GST, all payable by the appellant.

The appellant appealed the sentence imposed by the Ontario Court of Justice.

On consent of both the Crown and the appellant, the Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal, allowed the appeal, and varied the sentence to time served plus a 15-month period of probation.

The appellant appealed a finding of not criminally responsible (NCR) entered by the trial judge.

The Court of Appeal found that the appellant and his counsel were fully aware that an NCR hearing was being conducted, which could result in hospital confinement.

As no request was made for an adjournment to retain a defence psychiatrist, and there was no basis to interfere with the trial judge's disposition on the merits, the appeal was dismissed.

The appellant appealed his sentence for production of marijuana.

The trial judge had more than doubled the custodial sentence originally sought by the Crown because the appellant failed to attend his sentence hearing and was arrested on another drug possession charge in the interim.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge overreacted to these post-conviction circumstances and failed to adequately apply the parity principle respecting the sentencing of co-accused.

Leave to appeal was granted and the sentence was reduced to twelve months plus pre-trial custody.

The appellant appealed his conviction, arguing that evidence obtained during a strip search should have been excluded under s. 24(2) of the Charter.

The Court of Appeal acknowledged that strip searches are inherently intrusive and should not be routine, citing Golden.

However, the Court found no error in the trial judge's exercise of discretion to admit the evidence and dismissed the appeal.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Summary Conviction Appeal Court Judge, which had dismissed an appeal from a conviction entered by the Ontario Court of Justice.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the reasoning of the Summary Conviction Appeal Court Judge and dismissed the appeal.

The appellant was convicted of assault and received a conditional discharge.

Her summary conviction appeal was dismissed.

She appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial judge failed to provide adequate reasons for rejecting her testimony and accepting the complainant's version of events.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that while the trial judge's reasons were brief, they demonstrated a firm grasp of the evidence, correctly applied the burden of proof and the W.(D.) test, and met the functional requirement for adequate reasons.

The Crown appealed a stay of proceedings ordered by the trial judge.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in principle in the trial judge's exercise of discretion, despite the societal interest in having criminal cases proceed to trial.