Ontario man Shabbir Dossa accused of killing a man while he was driving drunk has gotten off on all charges because his right to a speedy trial was violated.
Ontario Justice Robert S. Gee ruled that the delays in the trial weren’t caused by the defence as the Crown had argued.
“This case just took far too long,” said Justice Gee in his Dec. 20 written decision. “Unacceptably long.
“The real reason for the delay in this case, wasn’t the volume of disclosure, the number of alleged Charter breaches or their complexity,” added Justice Gee. “The only reason this case exceeded the presumptive ceiling was a result of the unacceptable and unexplainable delay in the Crown providing disclosure. Had the disclosure, including the accident reconstructionist report and the ITOs, been provided in a timely fashion, by Mr. Dossa’s first appearance or shortly thereafter in March or April 2022, all the issues in this case would have been heard, argued and litigated to finality long before the 18-month ceiling.”
In 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada’s Jordan Decision was a precedent setting decision saying cases must be heard within a certain time frame. Jordan’s Decision says that once charges are laid, provincial cases must be heard within 18 months and superior court cases within 30 months.
Dossa was arrested following a head-on collision on Highway 24 between the city of Brantford and the town of Simcoe, Ontario, on Dec. 18, 2021.
The driver of the southbound vehicle, Norman Tate, died at the scene. His passenger, Kavita Nandall received significant injuries and was taken by ambulance to hospital. Dossa, the driver of the northbound vehicle, was also taken to hospital by ambulance, with minor injuries.
The OPP had seized vials of Dossa’s blood drawn on the night of the collision and on Feb. 11, 2022, charged him with impaired driving over .08, impaired driving causing death, and impaired driving causing bodily harm.
His trial started on Aug. 2, 2023, and the trial was to be completed on Dec. 21, 2023. However, it became necessary to add further days and the end of trial was then scheduled for April 25, 2024.
Not long after these days were added and the end of trial extended, Dossa’s lawyer brought forward a Charter application alleging his right to trial within a reasonable time had been breached. The trial was then scheduled to be completed Feb. 28, 2024, and the Charter application used this date as the anticipated end of trial. This is 24 months and 17 days since the swearing of the Information on Feb. 11, 2022, or 6 months and 17 days over the presumptive ceiling of 18 months as set out by the Supreme Court in R. v. Jordan.
The Crown has argued some of the delay ought to be attributed to the defence. Other delay was the result of exceptional circumstances both in the form of discrete events and that the case ought to be considered to be particularly complex. When time is deducted for these various factors, the Crown asserts the accused’s Charter right had not been breached.
The defence argued there was no delay attributable to the defence and, none of the circumstances of this case constitute exceptional circumstances. No discrete events led to delay and the case didn’t meet the threshold to be classified as particularly complex. As such, he argued Dossa’s Charter right had been breached and he was entitled to have the charges stayed.
“There has been no waiver by the defence, no delay attributable to the defence, nor are there any exceptional circumstances,” ruled Justice Gee.
“There were no discrete events and the matter is not particularly complex. The real reason for the delay in this matter is much more straightforward; it simply took far too long for the Crown to make meaningful disclosure to the accused. As such, I find Mr. Dossa’s right to a trial within a reasonable time has been breached and the charges will be stayed.”
