TURMEL: Supreme Court Nixes Spottiswood Auto Appeal

[KingofthePaupers]

http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/case-dossier/cms-sgd/dock-regi-
eng.aspx?cas=35099 is the docket of the case.

Background:

Cripple busted with marijuana and Crown seizes his wheels.
Cripple asks Provincial Judge but Judge Pockele laments he
wants to but doesn't have jurisdiction over the Crown.
Crown loved that, the Provincial Court is powerless.

Since the only court left with the inherent jurisdiction to do
"anything just" is the Superior Court so Mike applied there
to get his wheels back under his Charter Rights. Again, this
judge said she had no jurisdiction.
Crown loved that, all courts in Ontario are powerless.

So Mike appealed to the Court of Appeal arguing that all
courts can't be powerless to help the cripple get back his
mobility.

Of course, since the Crown didn't want the Court of Appeal
to rule which court had the power to return the seized
wheels and to retain both decisions that said the Crown was
all-powerful, they ordered the release of the auto to
forestall the appeal.

The problem was they waited too long and the wheels could
only be released 5 days after Mike's personal appeal to the
Court of Appeal to get his wheels back right away while
finding out which court should have given them back too.

We argued waiting another 5 days wasn't good enough and the
question of jurisdiction needed to be answered regardless of
the return of the auto later.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the appeal was mooted because
the cripple could wait another 5 days for his wheels and the
Crown got to keep its two decisions that no court has power
over its seized assets! Har har har. You can bet they'll use
those Spottiswood decisions from now on if some other
cripple ever tries to get his wheels back.

So here's now the Supreme Court of Canada summarized the
issues:

http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/case-dossier/cms-sgd/sum-som-eng.aspx?cas=35099
SCC Case Information
Summary
35099

Michael K. Spottiswood v. Her Majesty the Queen

(Ontario) (Criminal) (By Leave)

Keywords
Criminal law - Appeal.

Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar
of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch) for information
purposes only.

Criminal law - Appeal - Whether the lower courts erred in
law - Whether the appeal was moot - Whether a legal issue is
raised - Whether there are issues of public importance
raised.

The applicant's vehicle was seized as offence-related
property when he was arrested while using it to transport
marijuana plants. He sought a determination of the
forfeiture of his vehicle prior to the trial. Two lower
courts dismissed his application. The Crown consented to an
order for the return of the vehicle. The Court of Appeal
dismissed the appeal as moot.

So back at the docket for their decision:

2013-03-21

Decision on the application for leave to appeal, F Ro Mo,
The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of
the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C55042, dated
October 23, 2012, is dismissed without costs.

That's Justices Fish, Rothstein, and Moldaver who decided
that the issue of jurisdiction was properly mooted by
them promising to give Mike his wheels back.

Another injustice left to stand by Canada's best legal
minds! Har har har.
A jurisdictional issue mooted by an irrelevant fact.

[KingofthePaupers]

http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/case-dossier/cms-sgd/dock-regi-eng.aspx?cas=35099

At least Mike is probably the only person in Canada who has
ever won his car back before his trial! He now drives it
proudly!