Maija Martin

The appellant appealed his convictions and 12-year sentence for human trafficking, assault, forcible confinement, and related offences.

He argued that the trial judge provided insufficient reasons by failing to address inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence and improperly relied on a co-worker's testimony as corroboration.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the trial judge clearly understood the credibility issues, acknowledged the co-worker's motive to lie, and reasonably relied on independent video evidence and the co-worker's testimony to confirm the complainant's account.

Leave to appeal the sentence was denied as no basis for intervention was identified.

The appellant appealed his sentence for multiple drug trafficking and firearms offences.

He argued the 14-year sentence was crushing and that the sentencing judge erred by treating his flight from police as an aggravating factor, given the presentence report detailed his negative experiences with police, including anti-Black racism.

The Court of Appeal rejected the first ground but agreed the trial judge's findings on flight were incongruent with her acceptance of his negative police experiences.

The appeal was allowed in part, and the net sentence was reduced from 11.5 years to 11 years.

The appellant pleaded guilty to multiple drug and firearms offences and was sentenced to a net term of just over 8 years' imprisonment.

He appealed his sentence, arguing that new evidence of harsh pre-sentence custody conditions, including lockdowns and triple-bunking, justified a reduction.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the sentencing judge had implicitly accounted for the likelihood of harsh conditions when imposing a sentence at the bottom of the proper range.

The court also rejected arguments that the sentencing judge misapprehended the appellant's drug addiction or his role as a street-level dealer.

The appellant appealed his convictions for two sexual assaults against two sex workers, arguing the trial judge erred in failing to instruct the jury to disregard certain Crown cross-examination, admitting a photograph of the appellant, and allowing speculation about the cleaning of blood at the scene.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the trial judge's handling of the cross-examination, the admission of the photograph, or the Crown's suggestions regarding the blood evidence.

The Court noted the overwhelming evidence against the appellant, including similar fact evidence, medical evidence, and corroboration by other witnesses.