R. v. Clifford (R.A.)

• Jurisdiction: Nova Scotia
• Court: Provincial Court of Nova Scotia (Canada)
• Judge: Atwood, P.C.J.
• Neutral Citation: 2016 NSPC 16
• Citation: (2016), 371 N.S.R.(2d) 103 (PC),2016 NSPC 16,371 NSR(2d) 103,(2016), 371 NSR(2d) 103 (PC),371 N.S.R.(2d) 103
• Date: 03 March 2016

R. v. Clifford (R.A.) (2016), 371 N.S.R.(2d) 103 (PC);

    1169 A.P.R. 103

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2016] N.S.R.(2d) TBEd. MR.032

Her Majesty the Queen v. Robin Andrew Clifford

(No. 2809062; 2016 NSPC 16)

Indexed As: R. v. Clifford (R.A.)

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Atwood, P.C.J.

March 3, 2016.

Summary:

The accused pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. The matter moved to sentencing.

The Nova Scotia Provincial Court accepted a joint submission of four years' imprisonment. The court gave credit of 90 days for 60 days the accused spent on remand.

Criminal Law - Topic 5806.1

Sentencing - General - Sentencing parity - General - The Nova Scotia Provincial Court, per Atwood, P.C.J., stated that "I would note that in assessing the criterion of sentence parity, as the court is required to do under para. 718.2(b) of the Criminal Code, authorities from outside the province may be of somewhat limited use; primarily, however, the court must be alert to local circumstances, particularly the prevalence and incidence of particular crimes in this province, and the court must apply the principle of stare decisis to cases decided by s. 96 courts in this province" - See paragraph 15.

Criminal Law - Topic 5848.2

Sentencing - Considerations on imposing sentence - Time already served (incl. bail) - The Nova Scotia Provincial Court noted that pursuant to R. v. Stewart (NSCA 2016), one-to-one remand credit operated as a bare minimum - See paragraph 17.

Criminal Law - Topic 5848.2

Sentencing - Considerations on imposing sentence - Time already served (incl. bail) - The Nova Scotia Provincial Court stated that "... It is beyond dispute that pre-trial detention can have devastating effects on the lives of persons charged with criminal offences, even when those offences are later proven and convictions entered; furthermore, a compelling case might be made that pre-trial detention in Canada is overused, perhaps even beyond the bounds of constitutionality ..." - See paragraph 18.

Criminal Law - Topic 5848.2

Sentencing - Considerations on imposing sentence - Time already served (incl. bail) - [See Criminal Law - Topic 5938 ].

Criminal Law - Topic 5938

Sentence - Aggravated assault - The accused, age 45, was charged with attempted murder after strangling his teenage daughter - He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault - Suffered from post traumatic stress disorder related to his military service - No prior record - Had smoked small quantity of marijuana - Actions out of character - He co-operated with police - A joint recommendation suggested a sentence of four years' imprisonment - The accused had been on remand for 60 days, part of which was for purposes of psychiatric assessment - The Nova Scotia Provincial Court held that the joint submission was reasonable - The court held that the effects upon the accused arising from remand constituted circumstances justifying enhanced 1.5 to 1 credit for time served - Therefore, the court imposed a sentence of fours years, less 90 days' credit for time served.

Cases Noticed:

R. v. S.M. (2013), 325 N.S.R.(2d) 309; 1031 A.P.R. 309; 2013 NSSC 29, refd to. [para. 16].

R. v. Stewart (D.G.) (2016), 370 N.S.R.(2d) 231; 1165 A.P.R. 231; 2016 NSCA 12, refd to. [para. 18].

R. v. MacIvor (R.M.) (2003), 215 N.S.R.(2d) 344; 675 A.P.R. 344; 2003 NSCA 60, refd to. [para. 19].

Counsel:

Jody McNeill, for the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service;

Hector MacIsaac, for Robin Andrew Clifford.

This sentencing matter was heard before Atwood, P.C.J., of the Nova Scotia Provincial Court, who delivered the following decision on March 3, 2016.