The federal Crown has filed a notice of appeal against pot activist Tim Felger’s acquittal on drug charges.
The notice was filed Dec. 21 with the B.C. Court of Appeal. A date has not yet been set to determine whether the appeal should be granted.
Felger, 55, was acquitted Dec. 10 in B.C. Supreme Court in Chilliwack of seven charges – six counts of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Justice Brian Joyce threw out all the evidence, saying a 2009 police search of Felger’s Da Kine store – located at that time on Essendene Avenue in Abbotsford – breached his charter rights.
Joyce said police had trespassed on Felger’s property by ignoring signs he had posted that stated “no member of the Abbotsford Police Department is allowed onto this premise without a warrant.”
In the “notice of appeal” documents, the Crown states that Joyce erred when he said Felger was entitled to an “expectation of privacy” at his business and that his charter rights were breached.
Felger said he is not worried about the potential appeal and has confidence in his lawyer, Ken Beach.
“We will just take their arguments apart piece by piece. Systematically and deliberately we will prove my case,” he said in an email.
If the appeal is granted, a hearing would take place to determine whether Felger’s acquittal should be set aside and a new trial ordered.
If the appeal is dismissed, the acquittal would stand, but the Crown could pursue the matter through the Supreme Court of Canada.
