R. v. Figiel (D.J.), 2015 ABCA 19
| Judge | Brown, J.A. |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Alberta) |
| Case Date | January 08, 2015 |
| Citations | 2015 ABCA 19;(2015), 588 A.R. 372 |
R. v. Figiel (D.J.) (2015), 588 A.R. 372; 626 W.A.C. 372 (CA)
MLB headnote and full text
Temp. Cite: [2015] A.R. TBEd. JA.084
Her Majesty the Queen (respondent/respondent) v. Dennison James Figiel (applicant/appellant)
(1403-0310-A; 2015 ABCA 19)
Indexed As: R. v. Figiel (D.J.)
Alberta Court of Appeal
Brown, J.A.
January 12, 2015.
Summary:
The accused pled guilty to possession of 4.76 ounces of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking. He was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment. The accused appealed from the sentence only and applied for judicial interim release, pending the appeal.
The Alberta Court of Appeal, per Brown, J.A., dismissed the application.
Criminal Law - Topic 3310.1
Compelling appearance, detention and release - Interim release or detention of accused pending trial or appeal - Release pending sentence appeal - The accused pled guilty to possession of 4.76 ounces of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking - He was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment - The accused appealed from the sentence only, asserting that the sentencing judge had erred by (1) applying the 4.5 year starting point, which the accused asserted applied only to "wholesale" trafficking in cocaine and (2) labelling as aggravating the "nature and quality" of the drugs in issue and the "planning and deliberation" involved, where the starting point already accounted for those factors - The accused applied for judicial interim release, pending the appeal - The Alberta Court of Appeal, per Brown, J.A., dismissed the application - The first ground of appeal lacked arguable merit - The second ground of appeal, regarding the double counting of aggravating factors, had arguable merit - However, the accused would be relying on that argument to change a 30 month sentence to a conditional sentence order - Such an outcome seemed "highly unlikely", given the circumstances, which attracted a wholesale starting point - The accused's continued detention pending the appeal would not cause unnecessary hardship.
Cases Noticed:
R. v. Ewanchuk (S.B.) (2000), 271 A.R. 118; 234 W.A.C. 118; 2000 ABCA 303, refd to. [para. 4].
R. v. Maskell (1981), 29 A.R. 107; 58 C.C.C.(2d) 408 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 5].
R. v. Lau (W.T.) (2004), 357 A.R. 312; 334 W.A.C. 312; 2004 ABCA 408, refd to. [para. 5].
R. v. Ruth (K.L.), [2007] A.R. Uned. 9; 2007 ABCA 34, refd to. [para. 5].
Authors and Works Noticed:
Trotter, Gary T., The Law of Bail in Canada (3rd Ed. 2010), p. 10-37 [para. 10].
Counsel:
J.D. Martin, for the respondent;
D.J. Song and A.M. Mitic, student-at-law, for the applicant.
This application was heard on January 8, 2015, by Brown, J.A., of the Alberta Court of Appeal, who filed the following reasons for decision on January 12, 2015.
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R. v. Watts (D.), [2016] A.R. TBEd. MY.027
...should be admitted to bail"). See generally Note, "The Bail Reform Act of 1966", 53 Iowa L. Rev. 170 (1967). 19. The Queen v. Figiel , 2015 ABCA 19, ¶ 5; 588 A.R. 372, 374 (chambers) (Brown, J.A., as he then was, held that "sufficient merit" means "arguable merit"); The Queen v. Courtoriell......
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R v Williams, 2020 SKCA 108
...for trafficking in cocaine provides useful guidance for purposes of considering sentence parity in this case (see R v Figiel, 2015 ABCA 19 at para 5, 588 AR 372). [51] In that vein, I begin with R v Aube, 2009 SKCA 53, 324 Sask R 303 [Aube], which confirms that the personal circumstances of......
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R. v. Subramaniam,
...Cote, Grossman, Sandhu, Pocasangre, and Esparza‑Ochoa. The Crown also referred to Ho, 2011 BCSC 1185; Ruth, 2007 ABCA 34; Figiel, 2015 ABCA 19; Anderson, 2006 BCPC 418; and Dyal, 2007 BCSC [25] Of these decisions, Esparza‑Ochoa is relied upo......
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R v Wowk, 2020 ABCA 34
...judicial interim release is not granted, she will have spent more time in custody than that subsequently determined to be fit: R v Figiel, 2015 ABCA 19 at para 10. This risk is more significant where the sentence is relatively short and the sentence appeal will probably be heard after the s......
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R. v. Watts (D.), [2016] A.R. TBEd. MY.027
...should be admitted to bail"). See generally Note, "The Bail Reform Act of 1966", 53 Iowa L. Rev. 170 (1967). 19. The Queen v. Figiel , 2015 ABCA 19, ¶ 5; 588 A.R. 372, 374 (chambers) (Brown, J.A., as he then was, held that "sufficient merit" means "arguable merit"); The Queen v. Courtoriell......
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R v Williams, 2020 SKCA 108
...for trafficking in cocaine provides useful guidance for purposes of considering sentence parity in this case (see R v Figiel, 2015 ABCA 19 at para 5, 588 AR 372). [51] In that vein, I begin with R v Aube, 2009 SKCA 53, 324 Sask R 303 [Aube], which confirms that the personal circumstances of......
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R. v. Subramaniam,
...Cote, Grossman, Sandhu, Pocasangre, and Esparza‑Ochoa. The Crown also referred to Ho, 2011 BCSC 1185; Ruth, 2007 ABCA 34; Figiel, 2015 ABCA 19; Anderson, 2006 BCPC 418; and Dyal, 2007 BCSC [25] Of these decisions, Esparza‑Ochoa is relied upo......
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R v Wowk, 2020 ABCA 34
...judicial interim release is not granted, she will have spent more time in custody than that subsequently determined to be fit: R v Figiel, 2015 ABCA 19 at para 10. This risk is more significant where the sentence is relatively short and the sentence appeal will probably be heard after the s......