Unanimous decision offers guidance on when police must disclose misconduct information
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal made by the Edmonton Police Service in a case involving the disclosure of police officer misconduct.
Edmonton (Police Service) v. McKee is an interlocutory appeal on a decision rendered by the Alberta Court of King’s Bench. The verdict by the trial judge stated that even though a police officer’s official record had been expunged of an earlier finding of misconduct in accordance with the Police Service Regulation, the accused, John McKee, had the right to have information about that misconduct disclosed to him, as it affected his ability to have a fair trial and to make a fair defence, even in light of any potential issues of privilege, citing paragraph 340 of R. v. Stinchcombe. The Edmonton Police Service disagreed with that verdict.
Justice Sheilah Martin, writing for the unanimous decision of the seven justices (Chief Justice Richard Wagner, and Justices Andromache Karakatsanis, Suzanne Côté, Malcolm Rowe, Nicholas Kasirer and Mahmud Jamal) who heard the case, supported the trial judge’s decision, and expanded upon it, offering additional guidance regarding situations where police are required to disclose information about misconduct. In her decision, Justice Martin stressed that it is the Crown’s duty to decide what is relevant police conduct and what isn’t and therefore what needs to be disclosed to the accused. She also reiterated that landmark cases dealing with this issue, including Stinchcombe, R. v. O’Connor, [1995] 4 S.C.R. 411, and R. v. McNeil, are settled law.
Martin also outlined 10 principles to consider when contemplating disclosures of misconduct.
More to come
