R. v. Woods

R. v. Woods

The trial judge rejected the accused's account that she consumed vodka between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m., accepted the Crown expert's extrapolation of the accurate breath test results back to 5:00 p.m. (yielding 185–229 mg/100 ml under the relevant assumptions), and concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused's...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2005 NSPC 25
Parties
Crown: R.; Defendant: Noella Woods
Court
Nova Scotia Provincial Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
8 July 2005
Procedural Posture
Criminal Impaired Driving / Trial Decision (guilt Finding)
Outcome
Defendant found guilty of s.253(b) of the Criminal Code; s.253(a) charge stayed
Legal Topics
Care and Control, Blood Alcohol Extrapolation, Expert Toxicology Evidence, Credibility Assessment (r. V. W(d))
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Traffic/impaired Driving Evidence Care and Control Blood Alcohol Extrapolation Expert Toxicology Evidence Credibility Assessment (r. V. W(d))

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

R.

Crown

Noella Woods

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Impaired Driving / Trial Decision (guilt Finding)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused's BAC exceeded 80 mg/100 ml at time of last care and control
  2. 2 Credibility of the accused's account of timing of alcohol consumption vs. expert extrapolation
  3. 3 Reliability and application of toxicologist's extrapolation from breath tests

Ratio Decidendi

The trial judge rejected the accused's account that she consumed vodka between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m., accepted the Crown expert's extrapolation of the accurate breath test results back to 5:00 p.m. (yielding 185–229 mg/100 ml under the relevant assumptions), and concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused's BAC exceeded the 80 mg/100 ml legal limit at the time of last care and control; accordingly convicted under s.253(b) and stayed the s.253(a) charge.

Court Disposition

Defendant found guilty of s.253(b) of the Criminal Code; s.253(a) charge stayed

Orders

  • Guilty verdict on s.253(b) of the Criminal Code
  • Stay entered on the s.253(a) charge