Judge refuses to stay prom night murder charges over court delays
Tossing out charges 'would bring the administration of justice into disrepute'
An Ottawa judge refused to stay murder charges against Devontay Hackett, despite the fact his trial took longer to complete than the deadlines set out in a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Hackett, 21, was found guilty Friday of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Brandon Volpi outside an after-prom party at a downtown Ottawa hotel in June 2014.
His defence team had filed an application based on a Supreme Court decision last year that required accused people be tried within a reasonable frame of time, arguing that the 32½-month delay in bringing Hackett's case to trial violated Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Under what's come to be known as the Jordan decision, Superior Court cases like the Hackett murder trial now have to be completed within 30 months from when the charges are laid to the completion of the trial.
Delay 'marginally in excess'
Justice Charles Hackland rejected that argument on the first day of the trial, during a hearing without the jury present — meaning that it couldn't be reported on until the trial was over.
According to his written ruling, Hackland called the delays in the Hackett trial only "marginally in excess."
"To not permit a trial of this serious charge on the merits would bring the administration of justice into disrepute," wrote Hackland.
The judge said that there has been "good collaborative cooperation between counsel in moving this case along." He also refused to consider a one-month delay caused by Hackett being on the lam — even though he knew police had issued an arrest warrant.
"The accused remained a fugitive, knowing he was being sought by the police, for a one month period until his arrest," wrote Hackland. "This is a classic example of defence delay and I will count it as such."
Other charges stayed in Ottawa
The Hackett decision comes after charges against several people have been stayed in Ottawa due to lengthy trial delays.
The parents of murder victim Fouad Nayel protested outside the Ottawa courthouse in November after a judge stayed a first-degree murder charge against Adam Picard, the man accused of killing their son.
The victim's mother, Nicole Nayel, called the Ontario Superior Court ruling a betrayal, saying the justice system had failed her family. Crown lawyers have decided to appeal the ruling.
In January, another judge stayed charges against a 15-year-old boy accused of sexual offences involving a three-year-old at his mother's in-home daycare because of unreasonable delays.
It's one of the first cases in Ottawa that didn't concern a murder charge where the defence argued that the new deadlines meant their client's constitutional rights to a speedy trial had been violated.
Victims of attempted homicides and sexual assaults now worry that more criminal cases, including their own, could be thrown out because of trial delays, according to Ottawa Victim Services.