R. v. Morales

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R. v. Morales

Hearing: May 28, 1992
Judgment: November 19, 1992


Full case name:	Her Majesty The Queen v. Maximo Morales
Citations:	[1992] 3 S.C.R. 711
Ruling:	For Morales. The words "in the public interest" under section 515 of the Code be declared of no force or effect.

Court membership

Chief Justice: Antonio Lamer
Puisne Justices: Gérard La Forest, Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, John Sopinka, Charles Gonthier, Peter Cory, Beverley McLachlin, Frank Iacobucci, John C. Major

Reasons given

Majority by: Lamer J.
Joined by: La Forest, Sopinka, McLachlin and Iacobucci JJ.
Concurrence by: Gonthier J.
Joined by: L'Heureux-Dube J.

Laws applied

Section 11(e), Charter; R. v. Pearson, [1992] 3 S.C.R. 000; R. v. Oakes, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 103; R. v. Hufsky, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 621

R. v. Morales, [1992] 3 S.C.R. 711, is a leading case decided by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court found that the "public interest" basis for pre-trial detention under section 515 of the Criminal Code violated section 11(e) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the right not to be denied reasonable bail, as it authorized detention on vague and imprecise grounds.

1 Background
2 Opinion of the Court
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Background

Maximo Morales was being investigated in his participation in a cocaine importation ring in Canada. He was arrested in December of 1990 and charged with trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking under the Narcotics Control Act and Criminal Code.

At his bail hearing the judge denied his release and ordered him to be detained until the trial. The detention was based on section 515 of the Code which allowed detention where it "is necessary in the public interest or for the protection or safety of the public, having regard to all the circumstances including any substantial likelihood that the accused will ... commit a criminal offence or interfere with the administration of justice".

Morales applied for a review of the judge's order. He was granted release with conditions. The release was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the "public interest" component of section 515 violated sections 7, 9, 11(d) or 11(e) of the Charter, and if so, whether it could be saved under section 1.

[edit] Opinion of the Court

Chief Justice Lamer, for the majority, found that the "public interest" component violated the accused right not to be denied reasonable bail under section 11(e) of the Charter and could not be saved under section 1. He ordered the words "in the public interest" be declared of no force or effect.

Lamer examined the phrase "in the public interest" and found that it was vague and imprecise, and so could not be used to frame a legal debate that could produce a structured rule. Thus, the phrase violated the doctrine of vagueness and authorized detention without "just cause". On the justificition analysis under section 1, he found that the provision was not rationally connected to its purpose as it allowed pre-trial detention where it was not related to the objective. It also failed to be minimally impairing, as it permitted more detentions than necessary, and it was not proportional, as the deleterious effect outweighed the objective.

On May 7, 1993, Máximo Morales, aged 57 and of Cuban origin, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and importing 115 kilograms of the drug; just a small quantity of the huge volume of drugs that his organization had trafficked.

At that time, Morales represented the French-speaking province of Quebec on the executive of a "human rights" faction founded by Sambra, who was located in Toronto. However, according to various sources, the drug trafficker was aspiring to take over the presidency of the small organization.

Owner of the Les Aliments Morales, a food import firm with offices in the Quebec neighborhood of Montreal-Est, Máximo Morales had financed the creation of his business during the 1980s with the profits from various drug trafficking operations he had carried out.

On December 2, 1990, the Montreal municipal police seized several packets containing a total of 115 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $80 million and subsequently arrested Morales and some of his accomplices.

The drugs were hidden under the flooring of a vehicle that belonged to the drug trafficker. Efforts to conceal the goods had been carried out in such a "professional" manner, that it took detectives and experts two hours to discover the drugs stashed between two metal panels.

The drugs were wrapped in newspapers from Medellín, the notorious drug trafficking city in Colombia.

According to statements by police officers at the time of the arrest, detectives assessed that Morales' organization -- a mafioso group led by César Riviera from Toronto -- had imported 1,500 kilograms of cocaine the year before the "businessman's" arrest and earnings worth $3.4 million during the six weeks prior to that event.

Mr. Morales only spent a couple of years in prison since the CIA asked for his release due to the fact that Mr. Morales assisted the CIA in several operatives agaist the Castro Regime for which he now enjoys their protection. He lives in Montreal and has several businesses which he started with the profits of his drug business. He enjoys a certain degree of impunity and protection from the canadian and american authorities.