R. v. Stokes

R. v. Stokes

The offence was serious and involved a high degree of responsibility and breach of trust by an employee in a position of trust; mitigating factors (early guilty plea, remorse, positive PSR, lack of prior record) did not justify a discharge or probation alone; a punitive but non-custodial sanction capable of denunciation and deterrence was appropriate, therefore a 3-month conditional sentence served by house arrest with limited exceptions, followed by 12 months probation with specified conditions, was imposed.

Citation
2021 NSPC 25
Parties
Crown: Her Majesty the Queen; Defendant: Angela Stokes
Court
Nova Scotia Provincial Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
9 June 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal Indictable Offence (forgery Under S. 367, Criminal Code) / Sentencing Decision on Sentence
Outcome
3-month Conditional Sentence Order (house arrest) followed by 12 months probation
Legal Topics
Forgery, Conditional Sentence Order, Probation, Aggravating and Mitigating Factors, Breach of Trust, Victim Impact, Denunciation and Deterrence
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Sentencing Fraud Forgery Conditional Sentence Order Probation Aggravating and Mitigating Factors Breach of Trust +2 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown

Angela Stokes

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Indictable Offence (forgery Under S. 367, Criminal Code) / Sentencing Decision on Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a conditional sentence order is appropriate
  2. 2 Whether a discharge is appropriate
  3. 3 Whether probation alone is sufficient

Ratio Decidendi

The offence was serious and involved a high degree of responsibility and breach of trust by an employee in a position of trust; mitigating factors (early guilty plea, remorse, positive PSR, lack of prior record) did not justify a discharge or probation alone; a punitive but non-custodial sanction capable of denunciation and deterrence was appropriate, therefore a 3-month conditional sentence served by house arrest with limited exceptions, followed by 12 months probation with specified conditions, was imposed.

Court Disposition

3-month Conditional Sentence Order (house arrest) followed by 12 months probation

Orders

  • 3-month conditional sentence served by house arrest
  • Exceptions to house arrest to facilitate operation of the offender's home-based dog grooming business