Application for a Stay of Proceedings Under Section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Free

Background Facts

You act for Yasmin Brejal who is charged with assault under s. 265(1) of the Criminal Code. The charge stems from an incident that occurred at a Shell gas station located at the Norfinch Plaza, a small shopping plaza in North York. According to Ms. Brejal:

On August 7, 2020, at approximately 6:45 p.m. your client was driving home from her job as a pharmacist at a downtown hospital when she stopped at the Norfinch Plaza at 4932 Bathurst Street and Finch Avenue West in Toronto to buy gas and pick up some takeout food for dinner. The Norfinch Plaza is a small, but very busy, shopping plaza. The gas bar was extremely busy that night because gas prices were expected to rise at midnight and there were long lineups. Your client spotted an open pump and quickly drove in before someone else could take the spot. As she got out of her car a large woman approached her yelling, “What are you doing! I was waiting 10 minutes for this pump— get your butt back in your car and move it!”

Your client ignored the woman because, first, she had not seen the line of cars, and second, she too had experienced other people cutting in before. As well, with the lineups, getting back into the car and manoeuvring it would have caused even more disruption and upset. Your client lifted the hose to start filling the car. The woman approached your client with her fists clenched and said, “Unless you want a piece of me, move your friggin’ car now!” The woman continued coming at your client and shoved your client when she got closer. Your client then pushed her away to stop her attack. The woman stumbled backwards and fell. At the same time, a police officer exiting from the donut shop located at the plaza observed the end of the incident. Your client was arrested, charged with assault and later that day was released from custody.

You and your group members are partners in a paralegal firm. Ms. Brejal properly retained your firm after the Crown had elected to proceed summarily. A trial date has been set for January 20, 2022, at the 1000 Finch Avenue West courthouse, courtroom 310 at 10:00 a.m. When completing this assignment, use the names of your group members as paralegals for the defendant. Make up your firm’s contact information.

Draft an application including supporting material based on the facts provided above and the material set out below:

Your client was charged on August 7, 2020. She has made two court appearances and a trial date was set on her second appearance on August 24, 2020. Draft an application in proper form for the appropriate order under section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a stay of proceedings. Your application should include an affidavit, brief statement of legal argument, reference to appropriate case law or legislation and any other material required by the court. In addition, you will be relying upon a transcript of the proceedings that set the trial date.¹Â Ensure that the application conforms to the Criminal Rules of the Ontario Court of Justice and any applicable Practice Directions in all respects, including selecting an appropriate and timely hearing date for the application. You have been provided with a report from your client’s doctor that she is suffering from anxiety as a result of the charges while awaiting trial. This report should be properly attached as an exhibit to the affidavit that is used on the application. You can assume that the defence requested an earlier trial date when the trial date was set but that no earlier date was available. You can also assume any consistent dates, details and realistic facts that have not been provided. Please ensure that any assumed dates are consistent, reasonable and comply with all applicable Rules and Practice Directions.

All members of the group are required to contribute to the assignment. Each student is required to docket their time and complete the “Student Docket Entries” sheet posted. The docket sheet forms part of this assignment. Only one docket entry sheet is to be submitted per group. While the docket entry sheet itself is not graded, a student’s failure to contribute may result in a lower mark.