Dirk Derstine Successful in Constitutional Challenge to Firearm Laws

Justice Molloy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled today that the three-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession of a restricted firearm is unconstitutional because it denies Judges the freedom to craft sentences appropriate to the particular offender in question and the circumstances of his or her case.

Dirk Derstine argued the motion in conjunction with co-counsel Jeff Hershberg and won. This will be an interesting ruling going forward in the face of the Conservative government’s “Omnibus Crime Bill” which proposes to enact mandatory minimum sentences for a plethora of offences, including relatively minor drug offences.

For more information check out this article in the Toronto Sun: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/13/minimum-gun-sentence-cruel-and-unusual-punishment-judge