The appellant appealed his convictions for firearm offences following a traffic stop.
At trial, the appellant argued the stop was motivated by racial profiling and challenged the admission of the firearm under the Charter.
The trial judge dismissed the racial profiling claim and admitted the evidence despite finding a section 8 breach.
On appeal, the appellant argued the trial judge's frequent and unnecessary interjections during the cross-examination of police witnesses compromised trial fairness.
The Court of Appeal agreed, finding that the trial judge's interventions disrupted the defence's ability to effectively cross-examine key witnesses on the central issue of racial profiling, creating the appearance of an unfair trial.
The appeal was allowed and a new trial ordered.
