The Supreme Court of Canada considered four appeals involving offenders who had been detained for significant periods before being sentenced.
The trial judges imposed custodial sentences of less than two years and probation for three years, taking into account the pre-sentence custody.
In one case, the judge also ordered the offender to serve half his sentence before being eligible for parole.
The Court held that the term of imprisonment is the term imposed by the judge at the time of sentence, and pre-sentence custody is not part of the sentence but a factor taken into account.
Therefore, the sentences were less than two years, making the probation orders valid and the parole ineligibility order invalid.
