Veteran Punjabi film actor Nirmal Rishi receives Padma Shri
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says expert testimony may be admitted in drugged-driving trials without a preliminary examination of the evidence.
The high court decision today in the case of an Ottawa motorist could pave the way for speedier justice in cases involving suspected drug impairment at the wheel.
In May 2009, Carson Bingley cut off a driver, crossed the centre line and drove into the opposite lane, nearly striking oncoming traffic, and soon after he bumped a car in a parking lot.
He failed sobriety tests administered by a drug recognition expert and admitted to smoking marijuana, but was acquitted of driving while drug-impaired despite the expert’s evidence, which the judge found could be admitted without a voir dire, or preliminary examination of the evidence.
An appeal led to a second trial, where a judge found that the evidence must be vetted in a voir dire and the subsequent preliminary examination led the judge to rule the expert evidence inadmissible, resulting in a second acquittal.
The Crown successfully appealed again, a third trial was ordered and the Supreme Court ruling means that trial will go ahead.
