R. v. Wilkinson
- Citation
- 2021 BCSC 1186
- Status
- Judgment
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Court
- Supreme Court of British Columbia
- Decision
- 17 June 2021
- Posture
- Criminal Sentencing / Supplementary Reasons for Sentence / Clarification After Sentencing Hearing
- Language
- English
More details
- Court
- Supreme Court of British Columbia
- Decision
- 17 June 2021
- Posture
- Criminal Sentencing / Supplementary Reasons for Sentence / Clarification After Sentencing Hearing
- Language
- English
On this page
Professional case brief
Research organized from the available case record
01
Holding and result
The court clarified and corrected numerical sentencing computations: the accused had been in custody for 933 days; dead time is allocated as 312 days under Count 1 of the s.95 conviction, 200 days under Count 1 of the drug trafficking indictment, 310 days under Count 2 of the drug indictment and zero days under Count 3; 933 days of dead time are subtracted from the total sentence, resulting in 1,257 days left to serve. These corrections do not materially alter the sentence imposed and align the warrants of committal with Corrections' records.
Court disposition
Sentence computation and custody credit clarified; numerical corrections ordered; substantive sentence unchanged in length.
Orders
- Supplementary reasons for sentence issued to correct numerical errors in original oral decision.
- Custody credited at 933 days total.
- Dead time allocated as: 312 days under Count 1 of the s.95 conviction; 200 days under Count 1 of the drug trafficking indictment; 310 days under Count 2 of the drug indictment; 0 days under Count 3 of the drug indictment.
- 933 days subtracted from the total sentence; 1,257 days remaining to be served.
- Copies of these reasons to be sent to Corrections and counsel.
02
Material facts
Parties
Regina
Prosecution Counsel: P. Cheeseman; B. LansdowneJames Christopher Wilkinson
Accused Counsel: C. HodsonAmounts and remedies
- Dead Time Days: 933
- Time Left to Serve Days: 1,257
- Total Sentence Days: 2,190
03
Procedural history
Posture
Criminal Sentencing / Supplementary Reasons for Sentence / Clarification After Sentencing Hearing
04
Questions and positions
Legal issues
- 01
Calculation and allocation of credit for pre-sentence custody (dead time)
- 02
Application of the totality principle to concurrent sentences
- 03
Clarification of numerical sentence computation as reflected in warrants of committal
Party arguments
- Applicant
- Corrections and Crown requested clarification and correction of the numeric computation of custody credit and dead time allocation to ensure records and warrants of committal accurately reflect days credited; submitted changes are not material and do not alter the time to be served.
- Respondent
- Defence counsel, acting as agent for the accused, agreed to the numerical corrections and confirmed the changes do not constitute a material change to sentence and that the custodial time to be served remains consistent with Corrections' records.
05
Court’s reasoning
Legal principles
- 01
Common law; sentencing jurisprudence
Totality principle governs aggregate sentence to ensure overall sentence is just and proportionate
- 02
Sentencing principles under the Criminal Code and sentencing practice; operational application by Corrections
Credit for pre‑sentence custody (dead time) must be accurately calculated and applied to sentence
06
Ratio, limits and disposition
Ratio decidendi
The court clarified and corrected numerical sentencing computations: the accused had been in custody for 933 days; dead time is allocated as 312 days under Count 1 of the s.95 conviction, 200 days under Count 1 of the drug trafficking indictment, 310 days under Count 2 of the drug indictment and zero days under Count 3; 933 days of dead time are subtracted from the total sentence, resulting in 1,257 days left to serve. These corrections do not materially alter the sentence imposed and align the warrants of committal with Corrections' records.
Obiter and limits
- All counsel agreed the amendments are not material changes to the sentence.
- Corrections' records control operational computation of time to be served once judicial crediting is clarified.
Court disposition
Sentence computation and custody credit clarified; numerical corrections ordered; substantive sentence unchanged in length.
- Supplementary reasons for sentence issued to correct numerical errors in original oral decision.
- Custody credited at 933 days total.
- Dead time allocated as: 312 days under Count 1 of the s.95 conviction; 200 days under Count 1 of the drug trafficking indictment; 310 days under Count 2 of the drug indictment; 0 days under Count 3 of the drug indictment.
- 933 days subtracted from the total sentence; 1,257 days remaining to be served.
- Copies of these reasons to be sent to Corrections and counsel.
Source and reliance status
Supreme Court of British Columbia · 17 June 2021
This page organises the available record for research. Confirm quotations, current status, and subsequent treatment against the official source before relying on the case.
Judgment reading view
Judgment text
The complete available source text.
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Judgment· 17 June 2021
2021 BCSC 1186 R. v. Wilkinson
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Citation: R. v. Wilkinson, 2021 BCSC 1186 Date: 20210617 Docket: 179263-3 Registry: Victoria Docket: 42009-2 Registry: Duncan Regina v. James Christopher Wilkinson Before: The Honourable Mr. Justice Steeves Supplementary Reasons for Sentence Counsel for the Provincial Crown: P. Cheeseman Counsel for the Federal Crown: B. Lansdowne Counsel for the Accused: C. Hodson Place and Date of Trial/Hearing: Victoria, B.C. March 29, 2021 and April 1, 2021 Place and Date of Judgment: Victoria, B.C. June 17, 2021 [1] On November 26, 2020 I found the defendant, Mr. Wilkinson, guilty of three counts under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Information 42009-2). He subsequently pled guilty to the unrelated charge of possession of a prohibited firearm under the Criminal Code (Information 179263-2). [2] On April 1, 2021 I sentenced Mr. Wilkinson under the two Informations. I sentenced him to four years' jail for the firearms offence and a total of four years concurrently for the drug offences. On the totality principle I reduced the sentence to three years for each information, for a total of six years. Mr. Wilkinson had been in custody since July 20, 2019. [3] Corrections has asked for clarification in my April 1, 2021 oral sentencing decision, 2021 BCSC 896. A video hearing was held with counsel on June 15, 2021; Mr. Wilkinson could not be reached
for the hearing but his counsel appeared as his agent. All counsel agreed on the changes below. None of the changes are a material change. The time to be served from my sentencing decision is the same number of days as currently recorded in the Warrants of Committal. [4] The changes to the April 1, 2021 decision are: Paragraph 2: Mr. Wilkinson had been in custody since July 20, 2019 and it was agreed that he had been in custody for 933 days (not 929 or 930 days). Paragraph 35: The time in custody was 622 days (not 629 days). With a 1.5 multiplier the number of days is 933. The last sentence of paragraph 35 is amended as follows: For the purposes of dead time, I assess the dead time at 312 days, under Count 1 of the s. 95 conviction, 200 days under Count 1 of the drug trafficking indictment, 310 days under Count 2 of the drug indictment and zero days under Count 3 of the drug indictment. Paragraph 73: 933 days (not 961) of dead time is subtracted from the total sentence. [5] Paragraph 75: Time left to serve is 1,257 days (not 1,229). That is consistent with the current records of Corrections. [6] I am sending a copy of these reasons to Corrections as well as to counsel. "J. J. Steeves, J." The Honourable Mr. Justice Steeves
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