Case information

None.

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Criminal law – Evidence – Failure to testify – Accused did not testify at trial and was convicted of possession of a loaded restricted firearm – Court of Appeal taking into account in assessing the reasonableness of the jury’s verdict the fact that the accused did not testify at trial – To what extent can an appellate court consider the accused’s failure to testify in assessing the reasonableness of the verdict?

The accused Mr. Trellis was arrested in an apartment as part of a tactical unit operation. The police also arrested five other individuals who were present in the apartment at the same time. While the police were attempting to enter the apartment, an officer watching the window outside testified that he saw a male make movements that appeared consistent with throwing an object out of the window. The police searched the yard and found a semi-automatic handgun. There was a coarse black hair wedged inside the safety of the gun. The police also found marijuana and crack cocaine around the apartment building.

Mr. Trellis was charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a firearm without license or registration and possession of a loaded restricted firearm. Mr. Trellis was tried by a judge and jury. He did not testify. The Crown’s evidence at trial included the fact that the officer saw an object being thrown from the window, that the other male who was in the room with Mr. Trellis had left the room by then, that the gun was found outside with a coarse black hair wedged inside it, and that the DNA analysis of the hair and of a sample obtained from Mr. Trellis indicated the possibility of a match with another person of at best one in 145. Mr. Trellis was convicted of possession of a loaded restricted firearm and acquitted of the remaining offences. He was sentenced to a prison term of 40 months.