Saskatoon judge preparing to deliver decision on alleged Charter violations in impaired driving case

A Saskatchewan provincial court judge is preparing to deliver a crucial decision in a fatal impaired driving case, in which the defence argues the driver's Charter rights were violated.

Taylor Kennedy was at the wheel of the vehicle that struck nine-year-old Baeleigh Maurice in Saskatoon in September 2021. Maurice was taken to hospital where she died.

Kennedy is now charged with impaired driving causing death.

At provincial court in Saskatoon on Friday, Kennedy's defence team continued arguments that her Charter rights have been violated — both by officers at the scene and by the court because, they argue, Kennedy's case has taken an unreasonable amount of time.

Her defence team has two goals: either to have Kennedy's blood sample excluded as evidence in the case, or have the charges stayed because of the length of time the case has taken in court.

Defence lawyer Thomas Hynes argues there's a line of dominoes that lead to the blood sample, from Kennedy's confession that she had vaped cannabis and microdosed psilocybin mushrooms the day before, to an oral fluids sample, to the blood sample taken later the same day. The defence's goal is to remove one of the dominoes.

The blood sample is "key evidence" in the case, Hynes said.

He's also arguing the confession was unconstitutionally obtained. Last month, he argued that Kennedy felt like she could not leave the scene, and was therefore detained and should have the right to a lawyer.

A prior attempt to prove the confession was compelled by police failed, but the defence has brought up a recent decision that also centred around Charter rights and the admissibility of evidence to question the admissibility of Kennedy's confession from a new angle.

Katherine Roy, counsel for Saskatchewan's Ministry of Justice and attorney general, argued police are allowed to ask questions after a collision, and questions that led to the confession are not unconstitutional.

Hynes argues that if the questioning that led to the confession is found to be unconstitutional, the subsequent drug tests should be reconsidered as well.

Crown prosecutor Michael Pilon disagrees with the argument the case has been taking too long. 

Hynes argued that the case has exceeded the 18-month standard for provincial court cases. He calculated that, outside reasonable delays, the case had taken 23 months. 

Kennedy was charged in March 2022, but the trial did not begin until last October.