Judge stays car dealer’s fraud charges over excessive delay
Williie Cornford, 55, of Pepper Creek, was supposed to stand trial this spring for alleged 2019 frauds stemming from his failed auto business
A judge has halted a prosecution against a Pepper Creek man accused of multiple frauds at his now-defunct used-car dealership, ruling the Crown took too long to take the case to trial.
William (Willie) Cornford, 55, of Mataya Drive in Richibucto Road (better known locally as Pepper Creek), was scheduled to stand trial for four weeks in the Court of King’s Bench beginning May 29.
The charges arose after a lengthy Fredericton Police Force investigation into complaints about sketchy business dealings at Cornford’s former dealership, W&P Auto Sales, which had been located on Riverside Drive in Fredericton.
The business closed its doors the summer of 2019.
However, ahead of the trial, defence lawyer Ben Reentovich filed an application with the court seeking to have the charges against Cornford stayed, arguing his Charter client’s right to speedy trial had been violated due to excessive delays.
In a decision issued March 6, Court of King’s Bench Justice Terrence Morrison granted the defence’s application, finding Cornford’s rights had been violated to a degree that merited the extreme measure of staying the charges.
That means the case against Cornford is essentially halted permanently with no finding of guilt or acquittal.
The group of 25 charges - 14 counts of fraud, seven of uttering forged documents, three thefts and one count of making a false statement, all alleging events between May and July 2019 - all stemmed from other car dealerships accusing Cornford of fleecing them in various transactions.
A long and winding road
Morrison noted Cornford was initially arrested July 24, 2020, and that the relevant charges were initially laid July 31, 2020, and Nov. 26, 2020.
"Mr. Cornford made his first appearance in provincial court on Nov. 30, 2020, and after several adjournments request by the defence, the accused, on April 7, 2021, elected trial by judge alone in the Court of Queen's [now King's] Bench, and preliminary inquiry dates were set for Dec. 6-10, 2021," the judge wrote.
After that preliminary hearing, he wrote, Cornford's case was referred May 31, 2022, to the Court of King's Bench for trial, and the indictment was filed with the higher court June 28.
Morrison noted the guiding precedent from the Supreme Court of Canada on trial delays in criminal cases is R. v Jordan, which notes that superior court trials should be concluded within 30 months of the charges being laid.
Reentovich had pointed out the anticipated conclusion of Cornford's trial this spring and summer would exceed that 30-month timeframe.
"The Crown may rebut the presumption by showing that the delay is reasonable because of the presence of exceptional circumstances," Morrison said.
"If it cannot, the delay is unreasonable and a stay will follow."
The judge said regardless of which start date the court uses, be it July 31 or Nov. 26, 2020, the 30-month ceiling will have been exceeded in Cornford's case.
"The parties agree there is no delay attributable to the defence," Morrison said.
That's important because any defence delays don't count toward the 30-month timeline.
Crown prosecutors Christopher Lavigne and Rachel Anstey had argued during a Feb. 16 hearing on the stay application at the Burton Courthouse that there were exceptional circumstances at play that should keep from triggering the Jordan threshold.
Court heard the preliminary inquiry was adjourned Dec. 10, 2021, to Jan. 7, 2022 for argument, but the provincial court judge presiding over the hearing was isolating due to COVID-19 on that date.
A new date of Feb. 18, 2022, was proposed, but the Crown wasn't available on that date, so the argument was rescheduled for March 11, 2022.
"The Crown submits that the period from Jan. 7 to Feb. 18 (the proposed return date) constitutes exceptional circumstances as it is a discreet event contemplated by Jordan," Morrison said.
But the judge said the Crown didn't show it or the justice system in general took all reasonable steps to mitigate that delay.
"There is nothing in the record to indicate that any such steps were taken," Morrison wrote.
"Indeed, Mr. Cornford was committed for trial on May 31, 2022, but the Crown delayed filing the indictment until June 28, 2022. Had it been filed immediately, the matter may have been eligible for processing on the July motions day, but instead, it came before this court on the August motions day (Aug. 2, 2022)."
Case isn’t complex
R. v Jordan also allows cases to go beyond the 30-month limit if they're particularly complex, but the King's Bench judge said this prosecution doesn't appear to meet that criterion.
"In this case, other than the present application, there have been no pre-trial applications. There do not appear to be any novel or complicated legal issues in dispute," Morrison wrote.
The real issue to have been determined at trial was limited in scope, he wrote, in that it focused on whether Cornford had the necessary intent to actually commit the alleged crimes.
"While there are multiple charges, they do not cover a long period of time: allegedly all occurring between May and July 2019," the judge wrote.
"Although there are 25 counts, they involved only five victims and it appears from a reading of the indictment that there is a significant factual overlap."
Morrison noted that while there was "significant" document disclosure consisting of 40 bankers boxes paperwork in the case, he didn't find that "overwhelmingly voluminous" and doesn't in and of itself indicate the case is particularly complex.
"The presumptive ceiling set out in Jordan has been breached in this case, resulting in an unreasonable delay such that the accused's right to be tried within a reasonable time under Section 11(b) of the Charter has been violated," the judge wrote.
Morrison’s decision comes after another case was stayed for excessive delays in provincial court in Moncton, prompting a public outcry.
Judge Paul Duffie stayed a prosecution last month against a man accused of sexually assaulting a former dating partner, whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
The defendant was charged May 28, 2021, and Duffie granted a defence request for a stay under the Jordan precedent as well.
Unlike cases that go to the Court of King’s Bench, the Jordan timeline for provincial court trials is 18 months, and Duffie ruled that limit had been exceeded.
Shara Munn, president of the New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association, said last month such delays are an issue because prosecutors are overworked due to staffing shortages.
Provincial Attorney General Ted Flemming said last month such stays are rare, and that his department is working with prosecutors to see what can be done.
More changes loom
However, that doesn’t bring Cornford’s legal troubles to an end.
He faces another group of similar charges, these alleging frauds against individual customers as opposed to other businesses.
Cornford and his partner in W&P Auto Sales - Peter Geoffrey Kennedy, 57, of no fixed address - are charged jointly with defrauding four people of more than $5,000 each, and one person of a 2014 Ford Fusion.
Kennedy is also charged on his own with defrauding another six people of more than $5,000, two others of less than $5,000, and another two complainants of their vehicles.
Furthermore, Cornford faces additional counts of defrauding three other people - including his brother and his wife - of their vehicles.
Those charges allege events between 2017 and 2020.
Trials on those counts are scheduled for December.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Mr.Cornford dodged the first charge, but I don't think he will be fortunate enough to dodge the new charges
The way it is worded he is going to get off with it. Time will tell.