R. v. Nicholson

R. v. Nicholson

The court ordered disclosure of currently available contact information: the Crown must produce contact details for police officers in its possession because generalized safety concerns did not justify withholding and routing contact through the Crown would impede the defence; informer privilege did not bar disclosure of contact information for confidential informants where the accused already knew their identities and no specific safety concern was shown.

Citation
2016 BCSC 1266
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Christopher Michael Makoto Nicholson
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
18 May 2016
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Pre Trial Disclosure Application
Outcome
Disclosure ordered
Legal Topics
Informer Privilege, Disclosure of Witness Contact Information, Right to Full Answer and Defence, Third Party Privacy
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Evidence Procedural Law Informer Privilege Disclosure of Witness Contact Information Right to Full Answer and Defence Third Party Privacy

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 9 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Regina

Crown

Christopher Michael Makoto Nicholson

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Pre Trial Disclosure Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Crown must disclose contact information for police officers in its possession
  2. 2 Whether informer privilege prevents disclosure of contact information for confidential informants when the accused already knows their identities
  3. 3 Whether the Crown may require the defence to contact witnesses through the Crown or police intermediaries

Ratio Decidendi

The court ordered disclosure of currently available contact information: the Crown must produce contact details for police officers in its possession because generalized safety concerns did not justify withholding and routing contact through the Crown would impede the defence; informer privilege did not bar disclosure of contact information for confidential informants where the accused already knew their identities and no specific safety concern was shown.

Court Disposition

Disclosure ordered

Orders

  • Crown must produce the currently available contact information for the police officers involved.
  • Crown must produce the currently available contact information for the identified confidential civilian informants.