A decision was issued on January 15, 2008, by the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada in docket: CMAC-497

IN THE MATTER OF PRIVATE CHADWICK TAYLOR AND HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

Summary: The appellant appealed a sentence of 40 days imprisonment and a fine of $1,000 after he pleaded guilty to one charge of possession of marijuana and one charge of trafficking in cocaine, contrary to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The Appellant submitted that the Military Judge erred by rejecting a reasonable joint recommendation on sentence and in not informing counsel that he was considering rejecting the joint recommendation.

The Military Judge found the proposed sentence to be contrary to the public interest and the interest of the Canadian Forces since it did not strongly denounce the trafficking of cocaine.

The Court found that the Military Judge erred by omitting to inform counsel that he was considering departing from the proposed sentence in order to allow counsel to make submissions justifying the proposal.  The Court, however, dismissed the appeal as counsel was unable to demonstrate that the error was of consequence to the result in the circumstances.

The Court ultimately found that the sentence of imprisonment under appeal is not demonstrably unfit. The Court deferred to the Military Judge when he stated, “…use of drugs and the trafficking of drugs are a direct threat to the operational efficiency of our forces and a threat to the security of our personnel and equipment”.

Last updated: 2008-01-30		Important Notices
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