Conviction Set Aside Due To Ineffective Assistance Of Trial Counsel

In R. v. Trought,  2021 ONCA 379 the Court of Appeal for Ontario ordered a new trial for a man convicted of possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking on the basis that he had received ineffective assistance from his trial counsel.

The case against the appellant arose from a search of his apartment, where the police found a large amount of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. The search was conducted pursuant to a warrant that was based on information supplied by a confidential informant. The appellant challenged the validity of the warrant under  section 8 of the  Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by attacking the information said to have come from the informant.

Trial counsel initially challenged the validity of the search warrant by alleging that the police fabricated the information said to have come from the confidential informant. He later changed position, maintaining that if the information did originate with the confidential informant, one