R. v. Belcourt

R. v. Belcourt

The court exercised its s.605 authority to release the shotgun and specified ammunition for defence testing subject to conditions designed to insulate the parties from s.91(4) prosecution risk and to preserve evidentiary continuity and confidentiality: release to a sheriff who will supervise testing, permit expert Jon J. Nordby to examine, dismantle and fire the weapon under limits, preserve one live round unaltered, and require registry custody transfer and return under sheriff oversight.

Citation
2012 BCSC 2133
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Andrew Jonathon Belcourt; Accused: Samuel McGrath
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
19 October 2012
Procedural Posture
Criminal (murder) / Trial S.605 Application for Release of Exhibits
Outcome
Application granted subject to specified conditions
Legal Topics
Section 605 Criminal Code, Exhibit Release, Chain of Custody, Expert Testing, Section 91(4) Firearms Possession, Lawyer Client Confidentiality
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Evidence Firearms Regulation Procedural Law Section 605 Criminal Code Exhibit Release Chain of Custody Expert Testing +2 more

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Parties

Regina

Crown

Andrew Jonathon Belcourt

Accused

Samuel McGrath

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal (murder) / Trial S.605 Application for Release of Exhibits

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the court may release a firearm and ammunition under s.605 for defence testing
  2. 2 Whether a foreign expert without a Canadian firearms licence may handle/fire exhibits
  3. 3 Whether a sheriff may supervise testing instead of police to preserve confidentiality and neutrality

Ratio Decidendi

The court exercised its s.605 authority to release the shotgun and specified ammunition for defence testing subject to conditions designed to insulate the parties from s.91(4) prosecution risk and to preserve evidentiary continuity and confidentiality: release to a sheriff who will supervise testing, permit expert Jon J. Nordby to examine, dismantle and fire the weapon under limits, preserve one live round unaltered, and require registry custody transfer and return under sheriff oversight.

Court Disposition

Application granted subject to specified conditions

Orders

  • Registry to release Exhibit 23 (shotgun) and specified related exhibits to a sheriff and receive them back after conclusion of testing.
  • Exhibits to be released to firearms expert Jon J. Nordby upon presentation of identification satisfactory to the sheriff (Final Analysis Forensics, Jon J. Nordby).