M. Shumka

The applicant, currently on trial for sexual assault in the Ontario Court of Justice, sought an order of certiorari to quash the trial judge's dismissal of his mistrial application and an order of mandamus to permit him to re-elect a jury trial.

The mistrial application was based on the late disclosure of a police occurrence report.

The Crown moved to summarily dismiss the application, arguing it constituted an impermissible interlocutory appeal.

The Superior Court agreed with the Crown, finding that the trial judge's decision regarding the disclosure regime and the mistrial was within her jurisdiction, and therefore certiorari was unavailable.

The application was summarily dismissed.

The appellant, an Uber driver, appealed his conviction for sexual assault of a passenger, arguing the trial judge applied uneven scrutiny and misapprehended evidence.

The Crown cross-appealed the 60-day conditional sentence, arguing it was demonstrably unfit given the breach of trust.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the conviction appeal, finding no palpable and overriding error or material misapprehension of evidence.

The Court allowed the Crown's sentence appeal, finding the trial judge erred in principle and imposed a demonstrably unfit sentence that failed to reflect the serious breach of trust by a professional driver.

The sentence was increased to six months' imprisonment.