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R. v. Dutra

2001 SCC 29 [2001] 1 SCR 759 Court SCC Decision date 2001-05-16 Docket 27831 English

PartiesAlfred Dutra Appellant·Her Majesty The Queen Respondent

Judges Iacobucci, Frank; Bastarache, Michel; Binnie, William Ian Corneil; Arbour, Louise; LeBel, Louis

Delivered by Iacobucci J.

On appeal from British Columbia

Subjects Constitutional law

Contents

Iacobucci J.

Iacobucci J. – This is an appeal as of right which raises questions under s. 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms dealing with unreasonable delay. These questions involve well-established principles as expressed in the governing jurisprudence. We look to courts of appeal to be vigilant in supervising their application in given cases. We are all concerned with the length of the delay in light of the restrictive bail conditions imposed in this case, and in particular with the fact, agreed to by the parties and confirmed by the British Columbia Court of Appeal, that in 1996 a trial date for a two-day trial could not be obtained in the Provincial Court in less than a year. However, in the final analysis we can find no error in the disposition made by the British Columbia Court of Appeal that warrants our intervention. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal and deny the appellant’s request for costs.

Statutes and regulations cited