R. v. Galloway (R.), 2004 SKCA 53

• Judge: Vancise, J.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (Saskatchewan)
• Case Date: April 13, 2004
• Jurisdiction: Saskatchewan
• Citations: 2004 SKCA 53;(2004), 249 Sask.R. 121 (CA)

R. v. Galloway (R.) (2004), 249 Sask.R. 121 (CA);

    325 W.A.C. 121

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2004] Sask.R. TBEd. MY.008

Rita Galloway (applicant/appellant) v. Her Majesty the Queen (respondent)

(No. 759; 2004 SKCA 53)

Indexed As: R. v. Galloway (R.)

Saskatchewan Court of Appeal

Vancise, J.A.

April 15, 2004.

Summary:

The accused was convicted of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm and leaving the scene of a collision with the intention of avoiding liability.

The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench, in a decision reported at 247 Sask.R. 107, sentenced the accused to a total sentence of 2.5 years' imprisonment, imposed a three year driving prohibition and ordered that she provide a DNA sample. The accused appealed the conviction and sentence. She applied for release pending the appeal.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, per Vancise, J.A., dismissed the application but ordered that the appeal be expedited.

Criminal Law - Topic 3304

Compelling appearance, detention and release - Interim release of accused pending appeal - Detention necessary in the public interest - The 48 year old aboriginal female accused caused a motor vehicle accident which injured the driver of another vehicle and killed his passenger - She fled the scene on foot to avoid liability - Well educated - Led an exemplary life as a dedicated teacher and community activist - Operated a farm and fishing camp with her husband - Suffered social stigma and loss of reputation - Low risk to reoffend - No acceptance of responsibility - Prior conviction for impaired driving in which she tried to leave the scene - A number of prior speeding offences including one after the collision in issue - She was sentenced to a total sentence of 2.5 years' imprisonment - She appealed the conviction and sentence - She sought release pending the appeal - The Crown strenuously objected given the seriousness of the charges and given that her actions subsequent to the accident, during the trial and subsequent to her conviction had achieved exceptional notoriety which rendered her detention necessary in the pubic interest to avoid the public losing confidence in the administration of justice - The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, per Vancise, J.A., dismissed the application - The charges were serious - The public interest was better served by denying bail and ordering that the appeal be expedited in order to maintain confidence in the administration of justice - See paragraphs 11 to 23.

Criminal Law - Topic 3304.1

Compelling appearance, detention and release - Interim release of accused pending appeal - Detention necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice - [See Criminal Law - Topic 3304 ].

Criminal Law - Topic 3310

Compelling appearance, detention and release - Interim release of accused pending appeal - Release pending appeal - The accused was convicted of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm and leaving the scene of a collision with the intention of avoiding liability - She was sentenced to 2.5 years' imprisonment - She appealed the conviction and sentence - She sought release pending the appeal - The Crown argued that the appeal conviction was frivolous because the grounds of appeal relating to the findings of impaired driving and causation were based on findings of fact that made it practically impossible for her to demonstrate that she had at least an arguable case and that the appeal would not necessarily fail - The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, per Vancise, J.A., rejected the argument - The onus was high on the appeal proper but the standard for evaluating "not frivolous" appeals was low - For the appeal to be frivolous it had to be entirely without merit - The accused's notice of appeal contained matters of substance that were arguable - See paragraphs 7 to 10.

Cases Noticed:

R. v. Stellato (T.) (1993), 61 O.A.C. 217; 78 C.C.C.(3d) 380 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 4, footnote 1].

R. v. Kienapple, [1975] 1 S.C.R. 729; 1 N.R. 322, refd to. [para. 4, footnote 2].

R. v. Biniaris (J.), [2000] 1 S.C.R. 381; 252 N.R. 204; 134 B.C.A.C. 161; 219 W.A.C. 161, refd to. [para. 8, footnote 4].

R. v. Hanna (1991), 3 B.C.A.C. 57; 7 W.A.C. 57 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 9, footnote 5].

R. v. Drouin, [1994] S.J. No. 350 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 9, footnote 6].

R. v. Passey (D.M.) (1997), 209 A.R. 191; 160 W.A.C. 191; 121 C.C.C.(3d) 444 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 9, footnote 8].

R. v. Demyen (1975), 26 C.C.C.(2d) 324 (Sask. C.A.), refd to. [para. 12, footnote 9].

R. v. Nguyen (Y.V.) (1997), 97 B.C.A.C. 86; 157 W.A.C. 86; 10 C.R.(5th) 325 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 13, footnote 11].

R. v. Farinacci (L.W.) et al. (1993), 67 O.A.C. 197; 109 D.L.R.(4th) 97 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 15, footnote 13].

Counsel:

Lyle Zuk, for the applicant/appellant;

Dean Sinclair, for the respondent.

This application was heard in Chambers on April 13, 2004, before Vancise, J.A., of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, who delivered the following judgment on April 15, 2004.