United States v. O'Brien

United States v. O'Brien

On the balance of probabilities the Crown proved the person before the Court is the Patrick Thor O'Brien sought by the United States by relying on the certified but unsourced identifiers in the ROC combined with comparison to the photograph and post-arrest identification, and therefore committal for extradition was appropriate.

Citation
2008 BCSC 901
Parties
Applicant/requesting State: Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the United States of America; Respondent/person Sought: Patrick Thor O'Brien
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
9 September 2008
Procedural Posture
Extradition / Identification and Committal Hearing
Outcome
Person committed into custody to await surrender to the United States of America
Legal Topics
Identification, Committal, Certification of Evidence, Photographic Identification
Source Language
English
Extradition Law Criminal Law Evidence Identification Committal Certification of Evidence Photographic Identification

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Parties

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

Applicant/requesting State

Patrick Thor O'Brien

Respondent/person Sought

Procedural Posture

Extradition / Identification and Committal Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the person before the Court is the person sought by the requesting state
  2. 2 Reliability and sufficiency of unsourced identifiers in the Record of the Case
  3. 3 Admissibility and probative value of photographic identification

Ratio Decidendi

On the balance of probabilities the Crown proved the person before the Court is the Patrick Thor O'Brien sought by the United States by relying on the certified but unsourced identifiers in the ROC combined with comparison to the photograph and post-arrest identification, and therefore committal for extradition was appropriate.

Court Disposition

Person committed into custody to await surrender to the United States of America

Orders

  • Committed into custody with respect to offences in the Authority to Proceed: conspiracy to traffic in marihuana; conspiracy to possess marihuana for the purpose of trafficking; and conspiracy to import ephedrine.
  • Surrender delayed until after expiry of 30 days from the order; respondent advised of right to appeal and right to apply for judicial interim release (s.38(2)).