R. v. Innocente

R. v. Innocente

RCMP internal administrative investigation materials and personnel files are not in the constructive possession of the Crown for Stinchcombe purposes and must be sought under the O'Connor production procedure because they are employment/administrative records entitled to privacy protection; by contrast, materials...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2003 NSSC 206
Parties
Crown/prosecution: Her Majesty the Queen; Accused: Daniel Joseph Innocente; Accused/applicant: Giles Poirier
Court
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
21 October 2003
Procedural Posture
Criminal Conspiracy to Traffic in Cannabis / Pre Trial Disclosure Application (threshold Hearing)
Outcome
Application resolved as to procedure: RCMP internal and Halifax Regional Police files require O'Connor production applications; Gatineau Police file and RCMP administrative review inventory fall under Stinchcombe disclosure.
Legal Topics
Stinchcombe Disclosure, O'connor Production Procedure, Third‑party Records, RCMP Divisibility, Police Personnel Files
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Evidence Disclosure Police Administrative Law Privacy Stinchcombe Disclosure O'connor Production Procedure Third‑party Records +2 more

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown/prosecution

Daniel Joseph Innocente

Accused

Giles Poirier

Accused/applicant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Conspiracy to Traffic in Cannabis / Pre Trial Disclosure Application (threshold Hearing)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether requested materials are subject to Crown disclosure under R v Stinchcombe or require production under R v O'Connor
  2. 2 Whether RCMP internal administrative and personnel files are in Crown possession or are third‑party records
  3. 3 Whether Gatineau Police materials were produced in the course of the investigation/prosecution and thus subject to Stinchcombe

Ratio Decidendi

RCMP internal administrative investigation materials and personnel files are not in the constructive possession of the Crown for Stinchcombe purposes and must be sought under the O'Connor production procedure because they are employment/administrative records entitled to privacy protection; by contrast, materials generated in the course of the investigation or prosecution (eg. the Gatineau Police file relating to Inspector Redmond) are subject to Stinchcombe and must be disclosed by the Crown.

Court Disposition

Application resolved as to procedure: RCMP internal and Halifax Regional Police files require O'Connor production applications; Gatineau Police file and RCMP administrative review inventory fall under Stinchcombe disclosure.

Orders

  • RCMP granted leave to intervene in part
  • Materials originating from RCMP internal administrative investigations and RCMP personnel files (items 3,4,6) are not subject to Stinchcombe and must be sought by applicant under the O'Connor procedure