COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO
RE: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN (Respondent) v. J. L.
(Young Offender) Appellant
BEFORE: OSBORNE A.C.J.O., LASKIN AND BORINS JJ.A.
COUNSEL: Terry MacKay
For the appellant
Lisa Joyal
For the respondent
HEARD: February 4, 2000
Appeal from conviction and sentence by I. Cowan J. dated June 1,
1999 and July 6, 1999 respectively
E N D O R S E M E N T
1The trial judge found that the videotaped statement, the
admissibility of which is in issue on this appeal, was not
tainted by the appellant’s earlier statements to the police even
though, as the trial judge found, the videotaped statement was a
continuation of the earlier statements.
2In his consideration of the voir dire evidence, the trial
judge concluded that the appellant had an overwhelming desire to
acknowledge that he had committed the offence with which he was
charged, and thus provided the waiver and his videotaped
statement to the police.
3The appellant submits that since the videotaped statement
was a continuation of the earlier inadmissible statements to the
police, the videotaped statement must necessarily be
inadmissible. We do not agree.
4In our view, E.T. v. The Queen (1993), 1993 CanLII 51 (SCC), 86 C.C.C. (3d) 289
(S.C.C.) does not lay down hard and fast rules for the
admissibility of a statement made by a young offender assuming,
of course, that the statutory criteria have been met, as they
were in this case.
5In light of the trial judge’s findings on the issue of
tainting and his concurrent finding that the appellant wanted to
acknowledge his responsibility (findings which are supported by
the evidence), we do not think that the trial judge erred in
admitting the videotaped statement even though the appellant was
not specifically told that his earlier statements to the police
were not admissible.
6We did not call on the Crown in respect of the appellant’s
appeal from sentence. We are not persuaded that the sentence of
four months open custody and community service is demonstrably
unfit. Thus leave to appeal sentence is granted and the appeal
from sentence is dismissed, as is the appeal from conviction.
“C.A. Osborne A.C.J.O.”
“J.I. Laskin J.A.”
“S. Borins J.A.”