Accused charged with first degree murder. 62 month delay from the alleged incident to trial. Prison death. Direct Indictment filed by the Crown two years after the date of the killing. Accused had discharged two lawyers. Some complexity arose from O’Connor application for prison records.
Held: 11(b) breach. Stay entered.
“The Supreme Court’s application of the transitional exception in Williamson 2016 SCC 28 seems to indicate that a person’s right to a trial within a reasonable time cannot be diminished based solely on the nature of the charges … serious charges are precisely the cases that should be heard promptly.” Although the case involved O’Connor applications and voluminous disclosure, the case did not meet the Jordan definition of a level of complexity justifying delay beyond the 30 month ceiling.
T. Grace, C. Terepocki –
Defence Counsel