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The court dismissed the conviction appeal of an OPCA litigant but reduced her pandemic-related fine.
Kristen Nagle appealed her conviction and $10,000 fine for attending a religious observation with more than ten persons, an offence under the Reopening Ontario Act during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She argued that the Justice of the Peace failed to provide reasonable assistance to her as an unrepresented accused and failed to raise a Charter issue.
The court dismissed the conviction appeal, finding that the trial justice's assistance was reasonable given Nagle's deliberate use of Organized Pseudo-legal Commercial Arguments (OPCA) tactics, and that no miscarriage of justice occurred.
However, the court allowed the sentence appeal, reducing the fine to $3,750 (plus costs and surcharges), finding the original reasons for sentence insufficient for meaningful review and considering new biographical information and aggravating factors.
