R. v. Creighton

R. v. Creighton

Total delay from charge to anticipated trial end was 1,174 days (over the 30-month/912 day presumptive ceiling). The Court deducted 150 days as defence delay for the preliminary inquiry scheduling and 70 days for defence unavailability for the second trial dates (total defence delay 220 days). The Crown bore the...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2022 BCSC 1728
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Steven William Creighton; Co Accused: Jordan Lee Clavora; Co Accused: Eric Grossett
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
18 August 2022
Procedural Posture
Criminal Charter S.11(b) Application / Pre Trial Stay Application
Outcome
Application granted; stay of proceedings entered
Legal Topics
Section 11(b) Delay, Exceptional Circumstances, Preliminary Inquiry Scheduling, Severance, Section 8 Warrantless Search
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Administrative Law Section 11(b) Delay Exceptional Circumstances Preliminary Inquiry Scheduling Severance Section 8 Warrantless Search

Source-derived case record

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Parties

Regina

Crown

Steven William Creighton

Accused

Jordan Lee Clavora

Co Accused

Eric Grossett

Co Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal Charter S.11(b) Application / Pre Trial Stay Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether delay should be analysed communally or individually for multiple accused when fixing preliminary inquiry dates
  2. 2 Whether specific periods of delay constitute defence delay and how much to deduct
  3. 3 Whether unavailability of a police witness for medical reasons constitutes an exceptional circumstance under Jordan

Ratio Decidendi

Total delay from charge to anticipated trial end was 1,174 days (over the 30-month/912 day presumptive ceiling). The Court deducted 150 days as defence delay for the preliminary inquiry scheduling and 70 days for defence unavailability for the second trial dates (total defence delay 220 days). The Crown bore the burden to justify the remaining excess by exceptional circumstances. Although the unavailability of the essential Crown witness (Cpl. Nguyen) due to a serious ongoing medical condition constituted a discrete exceptional event, the Crown failed to demonstrate it met its obligation to mitigate the delay (no evidence why an available January 31, 2022 date could not be used and...

Court Disposition

Application granted; stay of proceedings entered

Orders

  • Stay of proceedings entered in respect of charges against Steven William Creighton