Ex-Mountie wants 2014 impaired charges dropped due to delays

A former RCMP officer charged with impaired driving in Moncton in 2014 is expected to find out on Aug. 8 if he will have to stand trial on the charge.

Ronald Cleveland's lawyer is arguing the charge should be dropped because the case has taken too long to get to trial.

Defence lawyer James Matheson said in a court hearing Thursday that 26 months to get a one-day trial is not reasonable.

Crown prosecutor Corey Roberts told the court that trial dates had been set on more than one occasion and none of them went ahead, even though the Crown was ready to proceed.

Roberts said the defence needs to take responsibility for delays in proceeding to trial that were the result of demands for the Crown to provide discovery evidence to the defence.

Section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms states any person charged with an offence has the right to be tried within a reasonable time. A 1990 Supreme Court of Canada ruling in R. v Askov sets out the standards courts are to use to judge whether that right has been infringed by unreasonable delays.

Cleveland was charged with operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit and operating a motor vehicle while impaired. The charges relate to an incident in Dieppe on March 21, 2014.

Cleveland pleaded not guilty to the charges in May 2014.

Cleveland was released from the RCMP on a medical discharge earlier this year.

At a court appearance in April, Cleveland told the court is is on medication for post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. 

Cleveland said going back and forth between the dates in his case was causing him some confustion and he wasn't "making any excuses."

After hearing arguments on Thursday, provincinal court judge Paul Duffie said he would take some time to make his decision and scheduled the matter to return to court on Aug. 8.