DRUG CONVICTION TOSSED AFTER TRIAL SWITCHED TO FRENCH

A New Brunswick court has set aside a woman’s drug trafficking conviction after her trial was mistakenly conducted in French. The provincial Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for Neisha Petitpas, convicted of possession of oxycodone and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in October, 2014. The appeal ruling says that at her first court appearance, Petitpas clearly indicated through her counsel that she wanted to proceed in English. It says initial proceedings were held in English, but at some point proceedings in Court of Queen’s Bench switched entirely to French. The appeal court says there was no obvious reason for this. The decision says the Criminal Code states that Petitpas had the right to be tried in the language of her choice, and that requirement was “wholly ignored.”