Ontario Review Board
Re: Isaiah A. Daley
ORB File No: 8461
Hearing held on: Friday, January 31, 2025
Place of hearing: St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
Pursuant to: Sections 672.48(1) and 672.81(2) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. J. Weinstein
Members: Dr. R. Buckingham Dr. L.O. Lightfoot Mr. K. McKenna Ms. B. Little
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Isaiah A. Daley Counsel: Mr. P.R. Boushy
The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. L. Barney
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. S. Kim
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated February 26, 2025)
Introduction:
On December 14, 2023, Mr. Isaiah Daley was found unfit to stand trial on charges of assault, utter threat to cause death and obstruct police, all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (“Criminal Code”).
Mr. Daley is subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”), dated March 13, 2024, which found him unfit to stand trial, and ordered that he be detained at the Forensic Psychiatry Program of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, West 5th Campus (“St. Joseph's”).
Pursuant to s. 672.81(2) of the Criminal Code, St. Joseph's notified the Board, by letter dated August 30, 2024, that they were requesting an early hearing of the current Disposition, as it was their opinion that Mr. Daley is now fit to stand trial.
On January 31, 2025, the Board convened a hearing at St. Joseph's to conduct a hearing to review the current Disposition.
Mr. Daley was present at the hearing and was represented by counsel, Mr. Peter Robert Boushy.
A Hospital Report, dated November 5, 2024 (the "Hospital Report"), was entered as Exhibit 1.
In accordance with s. 672.48(1) of the Criminal Code, the Board must decide whether Mr. Daley is fit to stand trial on the day of the hearing, within the meaning of s. 2 of the Criminal Code. Specifically, is Mr. Daley unable, on account of mental disorder, to understand the nature of a trial and the possible consequences of the proceedings or to communicate with counsel? If fit, he must be sent back to court. If unfit, the Board must make a disposition that is necessary and appropriate, taking into account the criteria set forth in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
For the reasons set out below and based on the expert evidence before it, the Board concluded that Mr. Daley is fit to stand trial and that he should be returned to Court. Furthermore, the Board ordered that a Keep Fit Order, pursuant to s. 672.49 of the Criminal Code, should be made, to ensure that Mr. Daley’s fitness is maintained prior to his trial.
Current Psychiatric Diagnosis:
- Schizophrenia
The Alleged Offences:
It is alleged that on September 4, 2023, Mr. Daley approached the complainant in a park and said, “Hey sweetheart.” When the complainant objected, he allegedly pushed her, causing her to fall, got on top of her, pushed her head into the ground and began punching her. When she called for help, he allegedly bit her arm. When bystanders intervened, he fled. The complainant was left with swellings to the front and back of her head and a cut lip.
A witness followed the accused as he fled. Mr. Daley is alleged to have threatened to shoot the witness between the eyes. When Mr. Daley was arrested, he is alleged to have given a false name.
Background Information:
- Mr. Daley’s background information is outlined in the Hospital Report, and it is accurately summarized in last year's Reasons:
“Mr. Daley has been reluctant to provide any information to the assessment team regarding his social history and initially provided no contact information for any family members. After he was assessed, contact was made with his sister and his mother was identified. However, little is known about Mr. Daley’s personal and developmental history, history of abuse and trauma, education, employment history, relationship or marital history, substance use, psychiatric history, medical history, family psychiatric history, and current support systems.
It has been ascertained that Mr. Daley has no criminal record, but does have three sets of criminal charges outstanding, relating to incidents on January 23, 2023, March 18, 2023, and July 10, 2023. The allegations in relation to each of these incidents involve violence or the threat of violence. In one case, he is alleged to have brandished a switch blade at a subway station, and in another he is alleged to have swung a lengthy pole at the head of a police officer and grabbed hold of a concrete brick.”
Course Since Most Recent Disposition:
- Mr. Daley’s course since his most recent Disposition is set out in detail in the Hospital Report. The following extracted paragraphs are relevant to this hearing:
“Mr. Daley was transferred from Mountain 3 to Waterfall 3 on March 14, 2024. On the day of transfer, he had limited insight as to why he was on the unit – his nurse had to orient him regarding his situation; as well as who is treating psychiatrist was. He accepted his prescribed medications but had no insight into his illness or the need for medication.
August 1, 2024: Mr. Daley’s fitness to stand trial was re-assessed and at that time he met criteria for fitness to stand trial.”
Position of the Parties:
- Counsel for the hospital, the Attorney General and Mr. Daley advised that this was a joint submission: all agreed that Mr. Daley is fit to stand trial and that he should be returned to court. All further agreed that a Keep Fit Order should be issued to ensure that Mr. Daley’s fitness is maintained prior to his trial, pursuant to s. 672.49 of the Criminal Code.
Evidence at the Hearing:
- The Board had available to it the evidence and documents forming the Record, the Exhibits, and oral evidence from Dr. Courtright. Dr. Courtright co-authored the Hospital Report, and she testified as follows:
a) She has been Mr. Daley’s treating psychiatrist since September 2024.
b) She has read, and adopted, the Hospital Report.
c) Mr. Daley, was assessed and found fit to stand trial on November 5, 2024, as set out in the Hospital Report
d) There have been no significant changes since that time, either to Mr. Daley’s clinical status or to his fitness to stand trial. She most recently assessed him on January 29, 2025, and again found him fit.
e) Mr. Daley is able to name the charges laid against him; he understands what the charges are; he knows the pleas available to him; he understands the potential outcomes of his plea options; he understands the meaning of taking an oath and perjury; he understands the possible consequences of a trial; and he also is able to name the roles of the professionals in the courtroom.
f) Mr. Daley is able to meaningfully communicate with, and instruct, his counsel. It was her opinion that he would be able to meaningfully participate in a trial.
g) The hospital is seeking a Keep Fit Order so that the treatment team can continue to treat Mr. Daley and maintain his fitness to stand trial, until his return to court.
Analysis and Conclusions:
Having heard and considered all the evidence and submissions from the parties, this Board finds that Mr. Daley is currently fit to stand trial, based on the test to be applied in R v Taylor, as well as set out in R v Bharwani, 2023 ONCA 203.
Mr. Daley is able to understand the nature, and object of the proceedings, and the possible consequences of any trial. The Court of Appeal addressed the fitness test most recently in R. v. Bharwani. The five member Court emphasized the need for meaningful participation in proceedings to be fit for trial.
Applying the test set out in Bharwani, the evidence before this Board allows us to conclude, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr. Daley meets the test for fitness. In particular, the Board believes Mr. Daley would be able to be meaningfully present and would be able to participate appropriately and instruct counsel in criminal proceedings.
In particular, the Board relies on Fitness to Stand Trial, as set on the Hospital Report:
“Mr. Daley’s Fitness to Stand Trial has been assessed on multiple occasions over the previous months and he was consistently able to engage appropriately in the assessment, demonstrate his knowledge of the legal process and his own situation, and communicate his thoughts in a coherent manner.
When asked about his Hamilton charges, he stated he had been charged with “assault.” He is currently facing 14 charges spanning 4 different incidents in 2023 and did not recall the specifics of the Hamilton allegations. He was advised he had also been charged with uttering threats and obstructing police and acknowledged the these after being read the Crown synopsis. He was appreciative of receiving a list of his current charges as a memory aid.
He correctly identified his counsel and stated that he felt comfortable working with him. He denied having any questions about the court process at this time and felt that he had a “pretty good” understanding of how the process would proceed.
In my opinion, Mr. Daley is Fit to Stand Trial. He is able to understand the nature and object of his criminal proceedings and their possible consequences. While in hospital, he has demonstrated his ability to communicate with the treatment team and to speak to his lawyer regarding his legal matter. In my opinion, he is able to communicate with counsel and to participate meaningfully in his criminal proceeding.”
The Board agrees with the parties’ joint submission, that a Keep Fit Order is necessary to maintain Mr. Daley’s stability.
Prior to his admission to St. Joseph's, Mr. Daley was homeless, with no personal or professional supports. On his current medication regimen, Mr. Daley has demonstrated improvement in his positive symptoms of schizophrenia, and his mental status is stable. There is no information about Mr. Daley’s psychiatric history, so it is difficult to assess whether he would continue with his medication upon discharge from the hospital. Mr. Daley would benefit from stable housing, mental health support and follow up in the community, which he currently does not have.
The Board therefore orders that Mr. Daley be detained at St. Joseph's, on a Keep Fit Order, on the same terms and conditions as his existing Disposition.
DATED this 26th day of February, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.
Mr. J. Weinstein Alternate Chairperson
Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board