COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO
DATE: 2003-06-27
DOCKET: C32738
RE: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN (Respondent) v. PAUL MOHENU (Appellant)
BEFORE: DOHERTY, MACPHERSON and SHARPE JJ.A.
COUNSEL: David E. Harris for the appellant Kim Crosbie for the respondent
HEARD & ENDORSED: June 26, 2003
On appeal from conviction entered by Justice M.L. Benotto of the Superior Court of Justice dated May 3, 1999.
APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT
[1] The submissions at bottom challenge the findings of fact made by the trial judge in the course of her ruling that the statement was voluntary. Those findings are supported by the evidence, demonstrate an appreciation of the relevant legal principles and reveal no misapprehension of the evidence.
[2] Even if we were to agree with the appellant’s contention that the police conduct reflects a flagrant indifference to the appellant’s status as a confidential informant, that conduct post-dated the taking of the statement by months and is unconnected to either the fairness of police conduct when the statement was made or the fairness of the appellant’s trial.
[3] The abuse of process argument was not made at trial and, in our view, adds nothing to the arguments made against the admissibility of the statement.
[4] The appeal is dismissed.
[5] We will not make the non-publication order sought by Mr. Harris. The appellant’s status and his involvement with the police have been a matter of public record for many years.