The Crown brought an application under section 15(4) of the Justices of the Peace Act requesting that a careless driving charge involving a fatality be heard before a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice rather than a justice of the peace.
The defendant did not oppose the application.
The court dismissed the application, holding that the fact of a fatality alone does not mandate trial by a judge.
The court found no complex legal issues, constitutional challenges, significant precedent value, or broader public interest factors beyond the fatality itself that would justify assignment to a judge.
