Kamloops lawyer wins Supreme Court of Canada case over joint submissions

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops lawyer has successfully argued a case that will change how greatly a trial judge is able to deviate from joint submissions.

Micah Rankin saw the need to take the matter to the Supreme Court of Canada after a judge applied a longer sentence to the subject of a 2013 manslaughter case than what the Crown and defense had agreed upon. 

“I contacted the individual involved and thought I would take a run at going to Ottawa with it,” Rankin said. “In the end they accepted … I thought it was a significant issue and evidently the Supreme Court thought it was a significant issue as well.”

He says the ruling will set a higher threshold for when the judge can depart from a joint submission.