R. v. Nuttall

R. v. Nuttall

Entrapment issues must be reserved until the end of the trial and only if the jury returns a verdict of guilty (per Mack). Applications alleging abuse of process and related Charter violations arising from the undercover operation are to be heard at the conclusion of the evidence (or at least at the end of the Crown's case) because their assessment requires the full evidentiary context; discrete s.8 or s.10 Charter issues affecting admissibility should be heard in a pre-trial voir dire.

Citation
2014 BCSC 1702
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: John Stuart Nuttall; Accused: Amanda Marie Korody
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
29 July 2014
Procedural Posture
Criminal (terrorism Related Offences) / Pre Trial Application Concerning Timing of Charter/abuse of Process/entrapment Applications (in Chambers Oral Ruling)
Outcome
Court ordered entrapment-related stay application reserved until conclusion of trial and only if jury returns guilty; abuse of process/Charter applications concerning alleged unauthorized police acts to be heard at conclusion of the evidence; discrete s.8/s.10 voir dires to be heard prior to trial; verdict to be...
Legal Topics
Entrapment, Abuse of Process, Charter S.2(a) Freedom of Religion, Charter S.7, Charter S.11(d), Section 24 Remedies (exclusion/stay), Search and Seizure S.8, Wiretap/dial Number Warrant, Undercover Police Operations, Timing of Voir Dire
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Constitutional Law (charter) Evidence Law Entrapment Abuse of Process Charter S.2(a) Freedom of Religion Charter S.7 Charter S.11(d) +5 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Regina

Crown

John Stuart Nuttall

Accused

Amanda Marie Korody

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal (terrorism Related Offences) / Pre Trial Application Concerning Timing of Charter/abuse of Process/entrapment Applications (in Chambers Oral Ruling)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether entrapment/inducement claims must be heard post-trial after a guilty verdict
  2. 2 Whether alleged unauthorized illegal acts by undercover police under Criminal Code s.25.1 and related Charter violations amount to an abuse of process warranting pre-trial relief
  3. 3 Whether alleged violations of freedom of religion (s.2(a)) and ss.7 and 11(d) should be addressed before the jury or after a full evidentiary record

Ratio Decidendi

Entrapment issues must be reserved until the end of the trial and only if the jury returns a verdict of guilty (per Mack). Applications alleging abuse of process and related Charter violations arising from the undercover operation are to be heard at the conclusion of the evidence (or at least at the end of the Crown's case) because their assessment requires the full evidentiary context; discrete s.8 or s.10 Charter issues affecting admissibility should be heard in a pre-trial voir dire.

Court Disposition

Court ordered entrapment-related stay application reserved until conclusion of trial and only if jury returns guilty; abuse of process/Charter applications concerning alleged unauthorized police acts to be heard at conclusion of the evidence; discrete s.8/s.10 voir dires to be heard prior to trial; verdict to be...

Orders

  • Defence applications for exclusion of evidence and stay of proceedings based on abuse of process to be heard at conclusion of the evidence in the trial; parties may call additional evidence in that voir dire
  • Defence application for a stay based on entrapment to be heard at the conclusion of the trial and only if the jury returns a verdict of guilty; verdict will not be formally entered until the application is heard and a ruling made