R. v. Darling

R. v. Darling

Because Sgt. Popat accessed the E‑Palmtop memo in the course of investigative work and the drafting history may reasonably assist the accused in arguing that police planning and state of mind increased the risk of a false confession or establish bad faith for abuse of process, the memo in a vetted form is relevant...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2017 BCSC 2112
Parties
Crown/prosecutor: Regina; Accused: Larry Sinclair Darling
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
25 October 2017
Procedural Posture
Criminal First Degree Murder / Pre Trial (voir Dires on Voluntariness and Admissibility; Disclosure Application)
Outcome
Application granted (in part)
Legal Topics
Mr. Big Operations, Disclosure, Voluntariness of Statements, Abuse of Process, Police Trickery, Trial by Judge Alone (s.473(1) Criminal Code)
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Evidence Procedural Law Mr. Big Operations Disclosure Voluntariness of Statements Abuse of Process Police Trickery +1 more

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Parties

Regina

Crown/prosecutor

Larry Sinclair Darling

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal First Degree Murder / Pre Trial (voir Dires on Voluntariness and Admissibility; Disclosure Application)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the E-Palmtop prop memo and drafting process are relevant and disclosable to the accused
  2. 2 Whether the process of creating the prop memo bears on voluntariness of post-arrest statements and on an abuse of process challenge to the Mr. Big confession
  3. 3 Whether police state of mind and investigative planning must be disclosed to assess risk of false confession

Ratio Decidendi

Because Sgt. Popat accessed the E‑Palmtop memo in the course of investigative work and the drafting history may reasonably assist the accused in arguing that police planning and state of mind increased the risk of a false confession or establish bad faith for abuse of process, the memo in a vetted form is relevant and must be disclosed to the defence.

Court Disposition

Application granted (in part)

Orders

  • A vetted form of the E‑Palmtop memo shall be disclosed to the defence