Public Prosecution Service of Canada - PPSC not proceeding with one charge against David Livingston and Laura Miller

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2017 /CNW/ - The PPSC announced today that it is no longer proceeding with one of the charges against David Livingston and Laura Miller. At the conclusion of its case, the Crown considered the totality of the evidence before the court at this stage and determined that there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction in relation to the breach of trust count and an acquittal on that count was entered by the Court this morning.

Mr. Livingston and Ms. Miller are still facing two charges, namely mischief in relation to data and unauthorized use of a computer system.

When deciding whether to initiate and continue a prosecution, PPSC prosecutors are guided by the decision to prosecute test set out in the PPSC Deskbook, a publicly-available document. Crown counsel must consider two issues: is there is a reasonable prospect of conviction based on evidence that is likely to be available at trial? If there is, would a prosecution best serve the public interest? If the answer to both questions is yes, the decision to prosecute test is met. The test is applied throughout the proceedings, from the time the investigative report is first received until the exhaustion of all appeals.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada is responsible for prosecuting offences in a manner that is free of any improper influence and that respects the public interest. The PPSC is also responsible for providing prosecution-related advice to law enforcement agencies across Canada.

 (Version française disponible)

SOURCE Public Prosecution Service Canada

Media Relations, 613-954-7803, [email protected], www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca