United States v. Costanzo

United States v. Costanzo

Disclosure was denied for lack of an evidentiary foundation showing an 'air of reality' of Canadian state misconduct or Charter breach; the certified ROC met s.33(3) requirements and despite possible inaccuracies about witness availability the ROC as a whole was admissible and contained sufficient, reliable evidence to commit the respondent to await surrender under s.29(1)(a).

Citation
2008 BCSC 300
Parties
Applicant/requesting State: The Attorney General of Canada on behalf of The United States of America; Respondent/person Sought: Carmen Costanzo
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
6 March 2008
Procedural Posture
Extradition / Committal Hearing to Await Surrender
Outcome
Committal to await surrender ordered
Legal Topics
Committal, Disclosure, Admissibility of Foreign Record of the Case, Identification, Abuse of Process
Source Language
English
Extradition Criminal Law Competition Law Constitutional Law (charter) Committal Disclosure Admissibility of Foreign Record of the Case Identification +1 more

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Parties

The Attorney General of Canada on behalf of The United States of America

Applicant/requesting State

Carmen Costanzo

Respondent/person Sought

Procedural Posture

Extradition / Committal Hearing to Await Surrender

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether disclosure of Canadian investigative material is required under s.32(2) and the Charter
  2. 2 Whether the certified Record of the Case (ROC) is admissible under s.33(3) given alleged inaccuracies
  3. 3 Whether the evidence in the ROC is sufficient to commit the respondent under s.29(1)(a)

Ratio Decidendi

Disclosure was denied for lack of an evidentiary foundation showing an 'air of reality' of Canadian state misconduct or Charter breach; the certified ROC met s.33(3) requirements and despite possible inaccuracies about witness availability the ROC as a whole was admissible and contained sufficient, reliable evidence to commit the respondent to await surrender under s.29(1)(a).

Court Disposition

Committal to await surrender ordered

Orders

  • Mr. Carmen Costanzo is committed to await surrender pursuant to s.29 of the Extradition Act
  • Certified Record of the Case admitted as evidence