Court of Appeal for Ontario
Date: 2019-06-13 Docket: C65966
Judges: Doherty, Watt and Pardu JJ.A.
In the Matter of Marko Brankovic
An Appeal Under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code
Counsel:
- Geocelyne Meyers and Erin Dann, for the appellant, Marko Brankovic
- Sarah Shaikh, for the respondent, Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario
- Janice Blackburn, for the Person in Charge, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
Heard: June 12, 2019
On appeal from: The disposition of the Ontario Review Board, dated July 16, 2018.
Appeal Book Endorsement
[1] Despite counsel's able arguments, we are not satisfied that the Board's decision is unreasonable or that the Board misapprehended the evidence. On the totality of the evidence, it was open to the Board to find a "direct connection" between the appellant's abuse of drugs and alcohol and his psychotic state when he committed the very serious index offences. The Board was also entitled to conclude that the appellant's concerns about the status of his young daughter at the time of the Ontario Review Board hearing added an additional significant stressor to his life at the time.
[2] In terms of the reasonableness of the order, we are satisfied that the Board was entitled to act on the opinion of the treating psychiatrist. The appellant has done well in many ways, but he has had the benefit of very close supervision, especially in terms of medication compliance. He was on a detention order at the time of this hearing. While he had nine months of apparent abstinence from drug abuse, we cannot say the Board acted unreasonably in concluding that a significant threat to the safety of the public remained. The conditional discharge reflected both that continued risk and the appellant's progress in the preceding year. Hopefully, that progress will continue.
[3] We need not consider the fresh evidence.
[4] The appeal is dismissed.