R. v. Sasano

R. v. Sasano

BC SPCA is not the prosecuting Crown and the O'Connor third party disclosure regime applies; the applicant failed to meet the likely relevance threshold because he produced no affidavit evidence and the disclosed BC SPCA records (including call notes and investigator statement) show no express or implicit promise of...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2022 BCSC 711
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Jeff Luke Rigear; Accused: Roy Makoto Sasano; Accused: Nicholas Steven George Schafer; Accused: Amy Elysia Soranno; Third Party: British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
29 April 2022
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Voir Dire Pretrial Application for Third Party Production
Outcome
Application dismissed
Legal Topics
Third Party Disclosure, Informer Privilege, O'connor Disclosure Regime, Stinchcombe Disclosure, Abuse of Process, Section 7 Charter, Confidential Informant, Production of Documents
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Evidence Charter Law Administrative/regulatory Law Animal Welfare Law Third Party Disclosure Informer Privilege O'connor Disclosure Regime +5 more

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Parties

Regina

Crown

Jeff Luke Rigear

Accused

Roy Makoto Sasano

Accused

Nicholas Steven George Schafer

Accused

Amy Elysia Soranno

Accused

British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Third Party

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Voir Dire Pretrial Application for Third Party Production

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether BC SPCA records are subject to first party disclosure or third party O'Connor regime
  2. 2 Whether applicant was a confidential informant attracting informer privilege
  3. 3 Whether disclosure by BC SPCA to police amounted to abuse of process or s.7 Charter breach warranting stay

Ratio Decidendi

BC SPCA is not the prosecuting Crown and the O'Connor third party disclosure regime applies; the applicant failed to meet the likely relevance threshold because he produced no affidavit evidence and the disclosed BC SPCA records (including call notes and investigator statement) show no express or implicit promise of confidentiality giving rise to informer privilege; there is no reasonable possibility BC SPCA holds additional records relevant to the asserted abuse of process, s.7 Charter claim, or the animals' condition for the relevant time period, therefore the production application is dismissed and prior sealing/in camera orders are set aside.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed

Orders

  • Application for production of BC SPCA documents dismissed
  • Previous orders sealing the application materials and directing the hearing be in camera are set aside