guilty!

It's a gorgeous day outside and I'm incredibly bored. The video remands finished in a record-breaking hour, the files are vetted, I already took a languorous lunch and now I'm at my desk, looking around. If I had a tennis ball, I would be throwing it against a wall. If I had one of those desktop toys where the little steel bearings swing back and forth, I would be making that bitch clack.

Next Wednesday I'm accompanying my boss to court to assist (read: watch him do all the work) with guilty pleas. Since the Crown and the defence have already negotiated a suitable sentence, I can't imagine this is terribly challenging. Nevertheless, I have reviewed the upcoming files and recorded the proposed sentences.


A little inside baseball:

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CDSA s. 4(5) - possession of marihuana in an amount that did not exceed the amount set out in CDSA schedule VIII (to wit, half a gram); CC s. 145 - breach of recognizance:
- $200 fine
- withdraw CC s. 145

CDSA s. 4(5) - possession of marihuana in an amount that did not exceed the amount set out in CDSA schedule VIII (some residue and a joint); CC s. 145 - breach of recognizance:
- criminal record, not drug related
- "this is worth a fine"
- withdraw CC s. 145

CDSA s. 5(4) - possession of marihuana for the purpose of trafficking, in an amount that did not exceed the amount set out in CDSA schedule VIII:
- 45 days + 12 months probation; get treatment -- intermittent is ok.
- CC s. 109 order (weapons ban): 10 years, w/ DNA sample.

CDSA 4(5), 1.4 grams; CC s. 259(4)(a) - driving while disqualified:
- $150 fine
- withdraw CC s. 259

CDSA 5(2) - possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking (6.6 grams); CDSA 5(2) - possession of methamphetamines for the purpose of trafficking (21 tablets); CDSA 5(2) - possession of ecstasy for the purpose of trafficking (8 tablets); CDSA 4(5):
- 6 - 9 months (closer to 9)

CDSA 5(3) - trafficking in a schedule III substance (5 Ritalin pills); CC 355(b) - possession of property obtained by crime, under $5000 (actually $5 cash):
- 12 months probation, w/ treatment
- withdraw CC 355 (b)
- forfeit the $5 ("seriously, it is POC")

CDSA 5(2) - grow op; CDSA 7(1) - production of cannabis marihuana; CC 145 (outstanding charges, P4P 40 grams cocaine):
- 12 months
- something of a tool recidivist; growing pot in London while out on bail in Goderich
- the CC charge stays

CDSA 4(5) - 1.3 grams of cannabis resin; CC 145:
- of note: this guy's offence date was December 29th; must have been a fun New Year's for that family
- withdraw CC 145
- sentence to 15 days consecutive

CDSA 4(3) - possession of 2 pills of hydromorphone:
- fine
- counselling/probation if needed, to address substance issues

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So that's that! Nine people with CDSA charges, which will likely be about a quarter of the accused persons pleading that day. I look forward to seeing them in the flesh, rather than on a video screen. And if I'm really lucky, Samuel L. Jackson will gun someone down as they leave the courthouse.