Roger Anthony Sydney Pinnock

The appellant was convicted by jury of second degree murder of his common law partner and sentenced to 17 years parole ineligibility.

He appealed both conviction and sentence.

Amicus raised two grounds of appeal: (1) the trial judge erred in failing to declare a mistrial when new evidence emerged during jury deliberations regarding the blue bathrobe used as a murder weapon, and (2) the trial judge improperly limited cross-examination of the officer-in-charge regarding information from a confidential informant about the appellant's alleged ties to organized crime.

The appellant also raised additional arguments regarding Charter violations.

The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal, finding no error in the trial judge's handling of the new evidence, the evidentiary rulings, or the sentence imposed.

The Crown appealed a declaration that the restriction on enhanced pre-sentence custody credit in s. 719(3.1) of the Criminal Code was unconstitutional.

The Court held that denying enhanced credit to offenders denied bail primarily because of prior convictions is overbroad under s. 7 because the provision captures persons unrelated to the public safety objective and affords limited meaningful review of endorsements.

The infringement was not saved by s. 1, as the measure was not minimally impairing and its deleterious liberty effects outweighed its benefits.

The Court also rejected the proposition that proportionality in sentencing process is an independent principle of fundamental justice under s. 7.