Maeve Mungovan

The accused, a transgender woman charged with murder, sought to introduce expert sociological evidence regarding the prevalence of violence against transgender people to support her claim of self-defence.

The Crown opposed the application.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the proposed evidence lacked logical relevance to the specific facts of the case, was unnecessary as the expected reactions to violence were not outside the normal experience of a jury, and carried a potential for prejudice that significantly outweighed its minimal probative value.

The accused was stopped by police in a residential building stairwell while they were investigating drug and gun activity.

The police detained and arrested the accused for possession of marijuana based on an alleged smell of marijuana and an alleged spontaneous admission.

A subsequent warrantless search revealed a loaded firearm, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, marijuana, and cash.

The court found the police lacked reasonable grounds for the detention and arrest, rejecting the officers' evidence regarding the smell of marijuana.

The court found multiple Charter violations, including arbitrary detention (s. 9), unreasonable search (s. 8), and failure to provide prompt rights to counsel (s. 10).

Applying the Grant framework under s. 24(2), the court excluded the evidence due to the serious and cumulative nature of the police misconduct.

The accused was acquitted of all charges.