R. Napal

The appellant appealed his conviction for driving with a blood alcohol concentration over 80, arguing the trial judge provided insufficient reasons on a s. 10(b) Charter application regarding his right to counsel.

The appellant claimed the trial judge failed to explain why he preferred the police officers' evidence over his own.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appeal, finding that the trial judge did not make a negative credibility finding, but rather relied on the uncontroverted evidence that the arresting officer read the right to counsel from a card while the appellant was in the police cruiser.

The reasons were deemed sufficient for appellate review.

The accused was charged with sexual assault and touching for a sexual purpose after allegedly performing cunnilingus on a ten-year-old child who was sleeping over at his residence.

The Crown's case relied on the testimony of the child and DNA evidence showing the accused's amylase on the child's underwear.

The accused denied the allegations, claiming he was at work at the time and suggesting the DNA transfer was due to innocent contamination.

The court rejected the accused's evidence, accepted the child's testimony as corroborated by the DNA evidence, and found the accused guilty of both charges.

In ongoing case-managed proceedings involving a proposed vexatious litigant declaration under s. 140 of the Courts of Justice Act, the applicant sought the case management judge’s recusal and challenged portions of affidavit evidence as inadmissible hearsay.

The court held that evidentiary questions regarding the scope of cross-examination and admissibility should be determined by the judge hearing the substantive s. 140 application.

The judge concluded that, as the assigned case management judge overseeing all related proceedings, he had jurisdiction to hear the s. 140 application and that doing so was the most practical and proportionate course.

The court rejected arguments that prior interlocutory rulings created a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The motion for recusal was dismissed.