B.C. judge tosses multi-count, drug-trafficking case due to delays

Margaret Rose Conrad faced eight charges of possession of various controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has stayed proceedings in a drug-trafficking case citing delays that violated the accused’s constitutional right to a timely trial.Jeremy Hainsworth

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered a stay of proceedings in a Vancouver Island drug-trafficking case due to the length of time it took for the case to get to trial.

Margaret Rose Conrad of Duncan was charged on an eight‑count indictment with possession of various controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of a prohibited conducted energy weapon without a licence.

The drugs and weapon were seized during an Aug. 6, 2022, search of a trailer occupied by the accused, Justice Douglas Thompson said in a June 4 decision recently posted online.

The charges were laid in November 2022.

Conrad’s trial was due to end Aug. 22, 2025.

Canadians have a constitutional right to a timely trial, a right reinforced in the Supreme Court of Canada 2016 decision in R. v. Jordan, which set ceilings for time-to-trial lengths.

Thompson said the time from the swearing of the criminal charges to Conrad’s August end-of-trial date exceeds the Jordan ceiling by three months and 20 days.

Conrad was committed to stand trial July 12, 2023, on the completion of a preliminary inquiry, a hearing held to determine if enough evidence exists to proceed to trial.

The trial was due to start June 11, 2024, but was adjourned. There were then several voir dires, hearings held to determine admissibility of evidence.

“I find that none of the delay that has occurred since the adjournment of the trial in June 2024 is defence delay,” Thompson said.

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