R. v. Lawani
The Court held the trial judge did not err: he considered the appellant's immigration status and all relevant factors and reasonably exercised sentencing discretion given the seriousness of the offences and the need for general deterrence; therefore the suspended sentence and concurrent 18‑month probation terms were...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- C31819
- Parties
- Respondent: Her Majesty the Queen; Appellant: Taiye Lawani
- Court
- Court of Appeal for Ontario
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 18 June 1999
- Procedural Posture
- Criminal / Appeal From Sentence
- Outcome
- Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed.
- Legal Topics
- Fraud Under $5, 000, Probation, Conditional Discharge, General Deterrence, Restitution, Deportation Consequences
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Her Majesty the Queen
Respondent
Taiye Lawani
Appellant
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Appeal From Sentence
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the trial judge erred in failing to impose a conditional discharge
- 2 Whether the trial judge failed to take the appellant's immigration/deportation prospects into account
- 3 Whether the exercise of sentencing discretion was reasonable in light of seriousness and general deterrence
Ratio Decidendi
The Court held the trial judge did not err: he considered the appellant's immigration status and all relevant factors and reasonably exercised sentencing discretion given the seriousness of the offences and the need for general deterrence; therefore the suspended sentence and concurrent 18‑month probation terms were upheld.
Court Disposition
Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed.
Orders
- Appeal dismissed; sentence upheld.
- Sentence: suspension of passing of sentence and probation for 18 months on each of six counts, to be served concurrently.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
R. v. Lawani Collection Decisions of the Court of Appeal Date 1999-06-18 Docket numbers C31819 Judges Osborne, Coulter Arthur Anthony; Catzman, Marvin Adrian; Farley, James Montague Subject Criminal Decision Content DATE: 19990618 DOCKET: C31819 COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO RE: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN (Respondent) v. TAIYE LAWANI (Appellant) BEFORE: OSBORNE A.C.J.O., CATZMAN J.A. and FARLEY J. ad hoc COUNSEL: Munyonzwe Hamalengwa for the appellant Laurie Lacelle for the respondent HEARD: June 15, 1999 On appeal from sentence imposed by His Honour Judge Otter on June 29, 1998. ENDORSEMENT [1] The appellant was convicted of six counts of fraud under $5,000. These were welfare frauds. The total amount involved was about $21,000. The trial judge suspended the passing of sentence and placed the appellant on probation for 18 months on each count. The sentences were concurrent. [2] The appellant submits that the trial judge erred in not resorting to the conditional discharge provisions of the Criminal Code. In a concurrent submission, the appellant submits that the trial judge did not take the appellant’s immigration status into appropriate account when he sentenced the appellant. [3] In our opinion, the trial judge considered all of the appropriate factors, including the appellant’s immigration status, that is the prospect of him being deported as a result of these criminal convictions. [4] In light of the seriousness of the offences and the significance of general deterrence, we cannot conclude that the trial judge erred in exercising his discretion on sentence as he did. Thus, our intervention is not warranted. That said, we do note that the appellant has made full restitution. This is a factor which may be of considerable interest to the immigration authorities. [5] Leave to appeal is granted but the appeal is dismissed.