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A Pembroke dentist who struck and killed a father of three while driving drunk more than seven years ago has lost an appeal of her conviction.
Christy Natsis was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in 2015 for the death of Bryan Casey on Highway 17 near Arnprior. In a decision released Monday, Ontario’s Court of Appeal dismissed Natsis’ appeal, bringing to an end one of the longest impaired driving cases in Canadian legal history. The trial continued on and off for 55 days over a three-year period, beginning in 2012.
Both Natsis and Casey had been drinking the night of March 31, 2011, but the court found it was Natsis’ vehicle that crossed the centre line of Highway 17 near Arnprior and crashed into Casey’s oncoming pickup truck. Casey braked before the collision. Natsis did not.
Lawyers for Natsis appealed the conviction, arguing that an expert witness, OPP Const. Shawn Kelly, was biased in his evidence. Natsis’ lawyer, Marie Henein, argued before the appeals court that Kelly viewed himself as “part of the team” for the Crown.
“The lack of objectively is concerning … he can’t be relied on,” Henein told the court.
But Appeals Court Judge Gladys Pardu didn’t agree, writing in Monday’s decision: “I see no basis to interfere with the trial judge’s conclusions regarding the admissibility of Kelly’s evidence.”
The trial judge at the time noted “there was a realistic concern that Kelly might be biased” but that the photographs and scientific evidence he presented could not be disputed.
Natsis’ legal team had also argued that the Crown’s expert witness had failed to keep a copy of draft reports and those drafts had not been disclosed to the defence. Again, Judge Pardu disagreed.
“I am not satisfied that the failure to disclose ‘impaired the right to make full answer and defence.’”
Natsis will be eligible for parole after serving a third of her sentence.
查看原文...
Christy Natsis was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in 2015 for the death of Bryan Casey on Highway 17 near Arnprior. In a decision released Monday, Ontario’s Court of Appeal dismissed Natsis’ appeal, bringing to an end one of the longest impaired driving cases in Canadian legal history. The trial continued on and off for 55 days over a three-year period, beginning in 2012.
Both Natsis and Casey had been drinking the night of March 31, 2011, but the court found it was Natsis’ vehicle that crossed the centre line of Highway 17 near Arnprior and crashed into Casey’s oncoming pickup truck. Casey braked before the collision. Natsis did not.
Lawyers for Natsis appealed the conviction, arguing that an expert witness, OPP Const. Shawn Kelly, was biased in his evidence. Natsis’ lawyer, Marie Henein, argued before the appeals court that Kelly viewed himself as “part of the team” for the Crown.
“The lack of objectively is concerning … he can’t be relied on,” Henein told the court.
But Appeals Court Judge Gladys Pardu didn’t agree, writing in Monday’s decision: “I see no basis to interfere with the trial judge’s conclusions regarding the admissibility of Kelly’s evidence.”
The trial judge at the time noted “there was a realistic concern that Kelly might be biased” but that the photographs and scientific evidence he presented could not be disputed.
Natsis’ legal team had also argued that the Crown’s expert witness had failed to keep a copy of draft reports and those drafts had not been disclosed to the defence. Again, Judge Pardu disagreed.
“I am not satisfied that the failure to disclose ‘impaired the right to make full answer and defence.’”
Natsis will be eligible for parole after serving a third of her sentence.
查看原文...
