Stays of Sentence in Successful Crown Appeals



Stays of sentence are sometimes granted in successful Crown sentence appeals. If the court finds that the sentence imposed at trial was unfit, it imposes what it considers a fit sentence, but then exercises its discretion to avoid the injustice that would result from re-incarcerating the offender who has served the original sentence and has gotten on with his or her life.

R. v. Ghadban, 2015 ONCA 760 (CanLII), at para. 19 (obiter); R. v. Dawkins, 2015 ONCA 202, at para. 5 (in which the appellate court used a different mechanism than a stay: notwithstanding the trial judge’s error and the impact that the error would have on sentence, the Court dismissed the appeal, as interfering with the sentence would not be in the interests of justice).



Stuart O’Connell, O’Connell Law Group, www.leadersinlaw.ca

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