R. v. Palmer
The Court dismissed the appeal because the trial judge could reasonably rely on the wiretap intercepts and other evidence to conclude trafficking, so the verdict was not unreasonable; the Court also ordered correction of the criminal record to reflect a Schedule II offence.
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2020 ONCA 579
- Parties
- Respondent: Her Majesty the Queen; Appellant: Andrew Palmer
- Court
- Court of Appeal for Ontario
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 11 September 2020
- Procedural Posture
- Criminal / Appeal From Conviction
- Outcome
- Appeal dismissed; conviction upheld; directed correction of criminal record to reflect Schedule II.
- Legal Topics
- Trafficking in Cannabis, Wiretap Intercepts, Conviction Appeal, Criminal Record Correction
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Her Majesty the Queen
Respondent
Andrew Palmer
Appellant
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Appeal From Conviction
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the evidence supports a conviction for trafficking as opposed to possession for personal use
- 2 Proper weight and inference to be drawn from wiretap intercepts
- 3 Whether the appellant's criminal record correctly reflects the statutory schedule of the offence
Ratio Decidendi
The Court dismissed the appeal because the trial judge could reasonably rely on the wiretap intercepts and other evidence to conclude trafficking, so the verdict was not unreasonable; the Court also ordered correction of the criminal record to reflect a Schedule II offence.
Court Disposition
Appeal dismissed; conviction upheld; directed correction of criminal record to reflect Schedule II.
Orders
- Appeal dismissed and conviction for trafficking upheld.
- Steps to be taken as soon as possible to ensure the appellant's criminal record reflects conviction as a Schedule II offence.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
R. v. Palmer Collection Decisions of the Court of Appeal Date 2020-09-11 Neutral citation 2020 ONCA 579 Docket numbers C63408 Judges Fairburn, J. Michal; MacPherson, James C.; Coroza, Steve A. Subject Criminal Decision Content COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO CITATION: R. v. Palmer, 2020 ONCA 579 DATE: 20200911 DOCKET: C63408 Fairburn A.C.J.O., MacPherson and Coroza JJ.A. BETWEEN Her Majesty the Queen Respondent and Andrew Palmer Appellant Andrew Palmer, appearing in person Amy Ohler, appearing as duty counsel Geoffrey Roy, for the respondent Heard and released orally: September 9, 2020 On appeal from a conviction entered by Justice George S. Gage of the Ontario Court of Justice, dated July 28, 2016. REASONS FOR DECISION [1] This is an appeal from conviction for trafficking in cannabis. The appellant argues, through duty counsel, that the verdict is unreasonable because the evidence cannot support trafficking as opposed to personal use. [2] This case involves wiretap intercepts. Despite the able submissions of duty counsel, having considered those intercepts, we find that it was open to the trial judge to conclude as he did. We dismiss the conviction appeal. [3] The appellant has raised with the court his concern over the fact that his criminal record reflects the wrong schedule of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19. The Crown has confirmed that his record reflects a Schedule I offence when it should in fact reflect a Schedule II offence. The appellant has no other criminal record and appears to be doing very well and is gainfully employed. This matter is of concern to the court. The conviction for a Schedule II (not a Schedule I) offence must be accurately recorded. [4] Accordingly, it is ordered that steps be taken as soon as possible to ensure that the appellant’s criminal record reflects that he was convicted of a Schedule II offence. “Fairburn A.C.J.O.” “J.C. MacPherson J.A.” “S. Coroza J.A.”