Appeal from drug trafficking conviction. Accused (a lawyer) caught bringing drugs into the Remand Centre. Issue at trial was proof of knowledge as to what was inside the envelope handed to the inmate. Accused did not testify. Unreasonable verdict appeal.
Held: Appeal dismissed.
Defence alleged a sloppy and incomplete police investigation. As per Spackman, 2012 ONCA 905: “It does not follow from the disclosure obligations imposed upon the Crown … [that] an accused is entitled to a particular kind of disclosure or assured of a specific form of investigation.” Further, it is “difficult to see” how a potentially incomplete investigation, that may leave gaps in the Crown’s case, could operate to the legal disadvantage of the accused. “Ultimately, the appellant is the only source of information as to what he was thinking at the time he did what he did. The trial judge inferred that he knew what he was doing.” Verdict was not unreasonable.
P. Royal – Defence Counsel