BC drug dealer’s conviction quashed due to prosecution delays

A BC drug dealer sentenced to more than three years jail for trafficking fentanyl, meth and cocaine has had his conviction overturned because Crown prosecutors took too long to get the case to trial.

A panel of three justices at the BC Court of Appeal ruled to quash Marshall Luther Cade’s conviction after finding the delays came from the Crown, not defence lawyers.

“The record does not demonstrate that the Crown took any proactive steps to mitigate delay once it became clear,” Justice Amy Francis said in the March 20 decision.

The case hinges on what’s known as a Jordan Ruling, which established strict timelines for criminal trials to take place. 

In the Supreme Court, an accused’s trial must take place within 30 months of being charged.

In Cade’s case, the Appeal court found his trial had started weeks after the 30-month cut-off.

The decision said Cade, along with John Jacob Ceal and Shawn Brian Omark Whaling, were all arrested and charged for drug trafficking in 2019, after police busted a drug dealing operation conducted out of Ceal’s apartment in Prince George.

Whaling received three years’ probation, while Ceal got 27 months jail and Cade got 30 months.

Cade was found to have almost 200 grams of cocaine, 135 grams of methamphetamine and 11 grams of fentanyl, with a street value of anywhere between $16,300 and $23,600.

During Cade’s trial, he made several applications arguing that his case was taking too long to get to trial. The delays came from scheduling as the three accused tried to organize court appearances with their three lawyers. The judge ruled the 37 days of delay, which pushed past the 30 month Jordan limit, were caused by the defence and arose from exceptional circumstances.

However, the Appeal Justices didn’t agree.

The Justice said it was clear to all the parties that the case was at risk of unconstitutional delay.

“It was set for trial on dates that would take it beyond the presumptive 30-month ceiling, with no obvious periods of defence delay that would alleviate potential… concerns,” the Justice said. “Nevertheless, it does not appear that the Crown took any steps after February 2022 to address the looming Jordan problem the case faced.”

“It appears that the Crown did not raise the delay issue with the assigned judge, who, if alerted to the problem, may have directed… to keep the trial under the 30-month ceiling,” the Justice said.

Ultimately, the court pinned the delays on the Crown and quashed Cade’s conviction.