Justices hear Crown appeal of Taylor Kennedy impaired driving case related to death of 9-year-old

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal heard arguments on Wednesday in Regina concerning a high-profile cannabis impairment case in Saskatoon.

Taylor Kennedy was charged with impaired driving causing death after nine-year-old Baeleigh Maurice died when Kennedy hit her with her truck on Sept. 9, 2021.

Kennedy told police she had vaped cannabis and microdosed psilocybin mushrooms the day before.

The case went to trial in provincial court, but Judge Jane Wootten stayed the charge on Dec. 13, 2024, ruling the case had taken longer than the 18-month time limit set by the Supreme Court. It was still before the court approximately six months past that time frame.

The Crown’s written appeal argument noted there were delays before the trial had started, and nearly nine months elapsed after Kennedy’s first court appearance before she chose trial by judge.

Judge Wootten's decision was met with shock and anger in the courtroom. The Crown filed its appeal a month later in January 2025.

Kennedy was charged on March 15, 2022. Final arguments in the trial took place Aug. 30, 2024.

At the time, Kennedy's defence argued that, outside reasonable delays, the case had taken 23 months. The Crown argued that when all reasonable delays were factored in, such as constitutional and Charter challenges and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the case had taken about 14 months. 

At Wednesday's appeal hearing, the Crown argued the trial judge erred by concluding there was no evidence allowing for the COVID-19 backlog delay to be counted.

The Crown also argued that the trial judge erred by deducting interim judicial deliberation time.

The Crown ultimately requested the appeal be permitted, the stay lifted and the case remitted to the trial judge so the trial can be continued with the remaining evidence and arguments.

The defence argued the trial judge did not err in her December conclusion that the delay in the case was unreasonable.

The three appeal court justices reserved judgement to an unspecified later date.

Baeleigh Maurice's family has previously said the charge against Kennedy should have not been stayed.