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A judge will hear Charter rights arguments to dismiss charges against Steven Conley this week on grounds his dangerous driving case took too long to come to trial.
His trial began Monday as Conley, 40, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and criminal negligence causing death in the Sept. 1, 2016 collision that killed 23-year-old cyclist Nusrat Jahan.
The defence tandem of Dominic Lamb and Fady Mansour will argue its motion under Section 11b of the Charter, commonly known as a Jordan application following the landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision. The ruling places a ceiling of 18 months on Ontario Court cases, while placing a 30-month limit on Superior Court cases.
In the Elgin Street courthouse Wednesday, Ontario Court Justice David Berg said he expects to hear arguments Friday from the defence in favour of dismissing the charges.
Crown prosecutor John Ramsay is expected to present his response in the same hearing.
In court Wednesday afternoon, Ramsay indicated to the judge it was a “defence-created delay” that contributed to the duration between the time charges were laid in 2016 and the start of Conley’s trial this week.
The case has already been heard twice in pretrial hearings.
The defence calculates the gap between charges and trial at 22 months seven days.
The Crown’s calculations put the gap at just over 14 months, Ramsay countered, within the 18-month ceiling prescribed in the Supreme Court’s Jordan decision.
Ramsay suggested to the judge the Crown had offered trial dates earlier in January, which were unavailable. He did not elaborate in court.
In a hearing earlier this week, Ramsay suggested he would also be arguing the gap between charges and trial was due in part to the “complexity” of the case.
Berg said he did not expect to make a ruling immediately after hearing arguments Friday.
The judge had expressed frustration earlier this week when the defence initially requested an adjournment for one of its own witnesses to prepare expert testimony.
Lamb since assured the judge his expert would be available as early as next week, though Berg noted a mid-trial delay could still threaten to push the scheduled 15-day trial into the fall.
“If we have to go over into later in the year … it may have to happen,” the judge said, noting he is scheduled to be on holidays during the closing three days of the trial.
The judge will now spend Thursday considering arguments made by both counsels over the admissibility of the statement Conley gave police on the day of the fatal crash.
Conley was interviewed by a police detective about two hours after the crash, which happened around 8 a.m. when Conley’s Tomlinson dump truck made a right turn from Laurier Avenue, heading south onto Lyon Street when it struck and killed Jahan, the daughter of a diplomat with the Bangladesh High Commission, who was biking to college classes that morning.
The collision and the ensuing public outcry became the catalyst for a City of Ottawa safety audit of downtown streets.
Conley told Det.-Const. Bruno Gendron, the lead investigator who conducted the 14-minute interview that morning, the cyclist “came out of nowhere” just before his truck struck her.
He claimed the light turned green and he triple-checked his mirrors before proceeding with a right turn through the bustling rush-hour intersection.
He said he heard a “crunch” and only realized he had hit someone when he noticed bystanders screaming and gesturing at him.
In its argument, Conley’s defence noted testimony from first responding officers describing Conley’s state of shock as police arrived to the scene to find him still in the driver’s seat “staring blankly.”
Lamb said investigators cautioned Conley on his rights to counsel, seized his log book and indicated he could be facing a range of charges under either the Highway Traffic Act or Criminal Code of Canada, but the officer did not specify which charges, if any, were being contemplated.
Without that information, Lamb argued, Conley did not know the legal jeopardy he may have been facing when he volunteered his statement without first speaking to a lawyer.
Conley asked the detective if he could be facing jail time, Gendron testified.
The Crown argued the statement should be admissible as Conley was able to clearly understand what police were saying to him and was able to respond appropriately.
Ramsay said there was likewise no evidence to suggest Conley was “compelled” by police into offering his statement that day.
“He was cautioned at its highest and made the decision to decline his rights to counsel and give his statement to police.”
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
查看原文...
His trial began Monday as Conley, 40, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and criminal negligence causing death in the Sept. 1, 2016 collision that killed 23-year-old cyclist Nusrat Jahan.
The defence tandem of Dominic Lamb and Fady Mansour will argue its motion under Section 11b of the Charter, commonly known as a Jordan application following the landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision. The ruling places a ceiling of 18 months on Ontario Court cases, while placing a 30-month limit on Superior Court cases.
In the Elgin Street courthouse Wednesday, Ontario Court Justice David Berg said he expects to hear arguments Friday from the defence in favour of dismissing the charges.
Crown prosecutor John Ramsay is expected to present his response in the same hearing.
In court Wednesday afternoon, Ramsay indicated to the judge it was a “defence-created delay” that contributed to the duration between the time charges were laid in 2016 and the start of Conley’s trial this week.
The case has already been heard twice in pretrial hearings.
The defence calculates the gap between charges and trial at 22 months seven days.
The Crown’s calculations put the gap at just over 14 months, Ramsay countered, within the 18-month ceiling prescribed in the Supreme Court’s Jordan decision.
Ramsay suggested to the judge the Crown had offered trial dates earlier in January, which were unavailable. He did not elaborate in court.
In a hearing earlier this week, Ramsay suggested he would also be arguing the gap between charges and trial was due in part to the “complexity” of the case.
Berg said he did not expect to make a ruling immediately after hearing arguments Friday.
The judge had expressed frustration earlier this week when the defence initially requested an adjournment for one of its own witnesses to prepare expert testimony.
Lamb since assured the judge his expert would be available as early as next week, though Berg noted a mid-trial delay could still threaten to push the scheduled 15-day trial into the fall.
“If we have to go over into later in the year … it may have to happen,” the judge said, noting he is scheduled to be on holidays during the closing three days of the trial.
The judge will now spend Thursday considering arguments made by both counsels over the admissibility of the statement Conley gave police on the day of the fatal crash.
Conley was interviewed by a police detective about two hours after the crash, which happened around 8 a.m. when Conley’s Tomlinson dump truck made a right turn from Laurier Avenue, heading south onto Lyon Street when it struck and killed Jahan, the daughter of a diplomat with the Bangladesh High Commission, who was biking to college classes that morning.
The collision and the ensuing public outcry became the catalyst for a City of Ottawa safety audit of downtown streets.
Conley told Det.-Const. Bruno Gendron, the lead investigator who conducted the 14-minute interview that morning, the cyclist “came out of nowhere” just before his truck struck her.
He claimed the light turned green and he triple-checked his mirrors before proceeding with a right turn through the bustling rush-hour intersection.
He said he heard a “crunch” and only realized he had hit someone when he noticed bystanders screaming and gesturing at him.
In its argument, Conley’s defence noted testimony from first responding officers describing Conley’s state of shock as police arrived to the scene to find him still in the driver’s seat “staring blankly.”
Lamb said investigators cautioned Conley on his rights to counsel, seized his log book and indicated he could be facing a range of charges under either the Highway Traffic Act or Criminal Code of Canada, but the officer did not specify which charges, if any, were being contemplated.
Without that information, Lamb argued, Conley did not know the legal jeopardy he may have been facing when he volunteered his statement without first speaking to a lawyer.
Conley asked the detective if he could be facing jail time, Gendron testified.
The Crown argued the statement should be admissible as Conley was able to clearly understand what police were saying to him and was able to respond appropriately.
Ramsay said there was likewise no evidence to suggest Conley was “compelled” by police into offering his statement that day.
“He was cautioned at its highest and made the decision to decline his rights to counsel and give his statement to police.”
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
查看原文...
