Supreme Court

R. v. Simms, 2003 NWTSC 15
Date: 20030317
Docket: S-0001-CR-2002000119

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

IN THE MATTER OF:


HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN


- vs. -


JUSTIN WALLACE SIMMS


Transcript of the Oral Reasons for Sentence by The Honourable Justice V.A. Schuler, at Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories, on March 13th, A.D. 2003.


APPEARANCES:

Mr. J. Burke:   Counsel for the Crown

Mr. R. Gorin:   Counsel for the Accused


Charge under s. 5(2) Controlled Drugs and Substances Act


THE COURT:   Well, I accept Mr. Sims' words that he is truly sorry. It is really tragic to me that someone who apparently is so hard working and was doing so well could become involved in something like this. Everyone knows that dealing in cocaine is illegal. There is no question in my mind that you must have known that what you were doing was illegal. Whether someone talked you into thinking that it wasn't a big deal, I don't know, but anyone who would do something like that obviously didn't have any regard for your interests or your life or what might happen to you.

I have said this in other cases: It never ceases to amaze me the way that people get involved in things, especially drug trafficking, and think they can get away with it, because they never do get away with it. They always get caught, and they end up making a mess of their lives. Because of this, obviously, you are going to have a criminal record. It may affect your ability to travel. It may affect your ability to get employment. It may affect all kinds of things in your life.

As Mr. Gorin has pointed out, it sounds as though you were trying very hard to help your girlfriend and now she is not going to have your help and may, in fact, unfortunately, be in a milieu that isn't going to be very helpful to her because of the drinking.

I suppose it is ironic, having tried so hard to


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help her with drinking, that you would then turn around and get involved in cocaine, which, as I'm sure you know, is highly addictive and is very destructive. It's destructive anywhere, but in a small community where people often don't have a whole lot of other things to do it can become the focus of their lives and can be extremely destructive to families, to children. It has all sorts of consequences that I'm sure you didn't intend and maybe didn't think about, but if you had taken the time to think, both what you were doing to yourself and might be doing to other people, I am sure that you probably wouldn't have gone ahead and done it, especially because it doesn't sound as though you were someone who really needed the money and could have got the money by perfectly legal means.

In any event, for the record I do convict Mr. Simms of the offence, possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking. I take into account that he has pleaded guilty. I take into account the circumstances which are that he was in possession of a total of 150 grams of cocaine at his home in Inuvik; that the cocaine was packaged in individual grams in what has been described as a spitball in each case; and that there was also the sum of $4,200 which he acknowledges was the result of trafficking in the narcotics.

I take into account that he did cooperate with the

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police. I accept that fact; that he did tell them where they could find the narcotics and the money that was in the apartment.

I take into account that he is 25 years old and that, as I have said, he appears to have had a good employment record. He came from Newfoundland to Inuvik, was able to find employment right away in 1999 when he came here and was doing well enough that he had recently received a raise and was making fairly good money.

I take into account, of course, that he pleaded guilty and that he waived the Preliminary Inquiry and has given up, therefore, some of his legal rights and has made the case proceed more smoothly through the system than it would otherwise. I also accept that it is an acknowledgement that he does feel sorry for what he has done. I also take into account the fact that he has no criminal record prior to this.

Counsel are agreed that the range should be between two and two and a half years for the offence. I think that that is a reasonable range. It is just a question of where the sentence should fall in that range.

MR. BURKE:   Your Honour, just prior to you -- I'm sorry to interrupt. Just for the record, I just wanted to clarify that the funds admitted to be involved that were seized were $4,700, not $4,200.

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$4,200 --

THE COURT:   I thought I had said 4,700.

MR. BURKE:   Oh, I'm sorry. No. I believe you said 42.

THE COURT:   All right.

MR. BURKE:   Apparently you had the correct amount in your mind, though; and the actual --

THE COURT:   I meant to say 47.

MR. BURKE:   The actual amount of cocaine seized was 11 grams of crack form cocaine and 17 grams, that's 17 grams, of powdered cocaine.

THE COURT:   All right. Thank you. Yes, I think I may have misspoken as to the amount. That's correct.

MR. BURKE:   Thank you, Your Honour.

THE COURT:   All right. That is fine. As I say, the question is simply where Mr. Simms' sentence should fall within that range.

Stand up, please, Mr. Simms. Balancing all of the factors that are involved in this case, the fact that there is a need in cases like this for sentences that hopefully will deter other people and indicate that this behaviour is not acceptable, that it is, in fact, destructive to society, balancing also your own personal circumstances, your own situation and trying to come to what I think is an appropriate sentence in all of those circumstances, I am going to put quite a

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bit of weight on the remorse that you have expressed and, from your attitude, what I think is a good chance that you won't be involved in this kind of thing again. So I am going to give you a sentence at the lower end.

The sentence will be two years in jail. There will be a firearm prohibition order commencing today and expiring 10 years from your release from imprisonment. You can have a seat, Mr. Simms. The $4,700 and the narcotics will be forfeited, and the remaining money, then, is to be returned, as I understand it, on agreement to Mr. Simms.

MR. GORIN:   Yes.

MR. BURKE:   Yes.

THE COURT:   All right. Is there anything further I need to deal with in this case?

MR. BURKE:   Nothing from the Crown.

MR. GORIN:   No, Your Honour.

THE COURT:   All right. Thank you very much, counsel. Good luck, Mr. Simms.

THE ACCUSED:  Thank you.

THE COURT:   I hope we won't see you back here again.

MR. BURKE:   Those are my matters, Your Honour. Thank you.

THE COURT:   All right.

(AT WHICH TIME THE ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE CONCLUDED)

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Certified pursuant to Rule 723 of the Supreme Court Rules.

Jill MacDonald,
Court Reporter

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