Mitchell Huberman

The appellant appealed his conviction entered by the trial judge on January 10, 2018.

The appellant argued that the trial judge erred by failing to provide a Vetrovec warning regarding the evidence of a key Crown witness.

The appellant also contended that the trial judge applied uneven scrutiny to the evidence of the Crown and defence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the trial judge had effectively complied with the spirit of Vetrovec by carefully examining the evidence and considering both confirmatory aspects and frailties.

The court noted that a Vetrovec warning is discretionary and that counsel had agreed at trial that no such warning was necessary.

The court also rejected the argument regarding uneven scrutiny, noting that the appellant was essentially requesting that the court re-weigh evidence, which is the function of the trial judge.

The appellant appealed his sentence imposed by the Ontario Court of Justice on charges of driving while disqualified and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The appellant argued that the sentencing judge erred by imposing consecutive sentences when a joint submission at the pre-trial stage had included a term that sentences be concurrent.

The Court of Appeal found the record unclear regarding the sentencing judge's intention on whether sentences should be consecutive or concurrent.

The Crown conceded the ambiguity.

The appeal was allowed and the sentence was reduced to reflect concurrent sentences.