Pubdate: Mon, 12 Apr 2010
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2010 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Peter Small
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?236 (Corruption - Outside U.S.)

DRUG SQUAD TRIAL GOES AHEAD AS SUPREME COURT DENIES APPEAL

The Supreme Court of Canada has turned down a bid from five former 
drug squad officers to have a decision sending them to trial overturned.

The court sent notification Monday morning that the officers' motion 
seeking leave to appeal an Ontario Court of Appeal decision had been rejected.

John Schertzer, Steven Correia, Joseph Miched, Ned Maodus and Raymond 
Pollard wanted the country's highest court to overturn a ruling 
issued last October, in which Ontario's Court of Appeal rejected a 
lower-court ruling that their right to a fair trial had been 
infringed by delays.

The five are alleged to have falsified notes, robbed and beaten drug 
dealers and conducted illegal searches between 1997 and 2002.

The five former officers argued the three appeal court judges made 
several legal errors.

For instance, they said the judges failed to give due deference to 
the conclusions of Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer, who stayed 
the charges against the officers in January 2008.

Nordheimer had ruled their right to a timely trial had been breached 
by the "glacial" pace it took the Crown to disclose mountains of evidence.

The appeal judges overturned his ruling for five of the former drug 
squad officers, while upholding it for a sixth, Richard Benoit.
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