R. v. Buckley

R. v. Buckley

The gap between the December 18, 2012 withdrawal and the April 8, 2016 information is excluded from the s.11(b) computation because Mr. Buckley was not subject to the judicial process nor imminent further charges during the gap; excluding the gap yields total post‑charge delay of 31 months 20 days, from which defence delay/waiver of 5.5 months is deducted leaving 26 months, which is below the 30‑month Jordan ceiling; accordingly there is no s.11(b) breach and the s.24(1) stay is dismissed.

Citation
2018 NSSC 3
Parties
Prosecutor: Her Majesty the Queen; Accused: John Buckley
Court
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
17 January 2018
Procedural Posture
Criminal Murder (first Degree) / Voir Dire; S.11(b) Charter Delay Application; Pre Trial
Outcome
Application for a stay of proceedings under s.24(1) dismissed; no breach of s.11(b) Charter right; trial to proceed.
Legal Topics
Section 11(b) Charter Delay, Jordan Framework, Defense Delay Allocation, Gap Between Informations, Mr. Big Confession Admissibility, Stay of Proceedings, Publication Ban (s.486.5 Criminal Code)
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Evidence Pre Trial Procedure Section 11(b) Charter Delay Jordan Framework Defense Delay Allocation Gap Between Informations +3 more

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Prosecutor

John Buckley

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal Murder (first Degree) / Voir Dire; S.11(b) Charter Delay Application; Pre Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the gap period between a withdrawn information and a later information is included in the s.11(b) delay calculation
  2. 2 Whether the total delay in this matter breaches the s.11(b) right under the Jordan framework
  3. 3 Whether and how much delay is attributable to the defence and should be deducted

Ratio Decidendi

The gap between the December 18, 2012 withdrawal and the April 8, 2016 information is excluded from the s.11(b) computation because Mr. Buckley was not subject to the judicial process nor imminent further charges during the gap; excluding the gap yields total post‑charge delay of 31 months 20 days, from which defence delay/waiver of 5.5 months is deducted leaving 26 months, which is below the 30‑month Jordan ceiling; accordingly there is no s.11(b) breach and the s.24(1) stay is dismissed.

Court Disposition

Application for a stay of proceedings under s.24(1) dismissed; no breach of s.11(b) Charter right; trial to proceed.

Orders

  • Stay of proceedings under s.24(1) dismissed.
  • Trial to proceed; anticipated completion updated to February 13, 2018.