In R. v. P. the accused was charged with impaired driving as well as dangerous driving and failure to remain at the scene of an accident. The case arose out of events that took place in Langley, B.C. At the trial, Marvin Stern argued on behalf of the Defendant that the case should be dismissed due to unreasonable delay which violated his client P.’s Charter right to a trial within a reasonable time. The Information (the charging document) in the case was issued approximately 3 months after the alleged offence. The first court appearance for the accused took place shortly over a month later, and at that time a trial date was set for 10 months later (i.e. approx. 14 months after the incident). On the scheduled trial date only a part of the trial could be completed in the time scheduled, and a further continuation of the case was set for almost 3 months later. At that time further evidence was heard but the case still did not conclude, and a further continuation was arranged for an additional 4 months later. Due to an administrative error on the part of the judge, this continuation was booked at a time when the judge was unavailable and the matter therefore had to be adjourned for an additional 4 months, making it some 25 months from the date of the incident until the conclusion of the trial. At the final hearing Mr. Stern argued that the delay in this case was excessive, and was not attributable to the actions of his client (i.e. the defence had not requested or been responsible for any of the delays in the case). The judge found that the delay in this case was excessive and breached the defendant’s right to trial within a reasonable time. As a result the charges against the accused were dropped. * To request a copy of the complete reasons for judgment in this case, please click here. Case Study Disclaimer: The case studies on this web site are intended to be illustrative of various legal situations for which Stern & Albert commonly appear as legal counsel. Every case is unique. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results and litigation outcomes will vary according to the facts in individual cases. Back to Case Studies

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