Pubdate: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2014 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Page: A6 Referenced: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html MANDATORY MINIMUM JAIL TIME FOR TRAFFICKING RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL A British Columbia Provincial Court judge has ruled that a one-year mandatory minimum sentence for drug trafficking recently introduced by the federal government is a violation of the Charter of Rights and declared it "of no force and effect." B. C. Provincial Court Judge Joseph Galati instead sentenced Joseph Ryan Lloyd on Wednesday to 191 days behind bars, saying the 25- year- old from Alberta was a low-level dealer selling drugs to support his own addiction. "Provincial Court judges in the City of Vancouver deal constantly with drug addicts who resort to crime to feed their addictions," Galati wrote in a decision last month on an application in the case. Lloyd was convicted in September of three counts of possessing crack, methamphetamine and heroin for the purpose of trafficking. He has 21 prior convictions, including fraud or forgery offences, thefts, assault, possession of a prohibited weapon and - most significant - a 2012 trafficking charge. With a credit for time served before sentencing, Lloyd spent 27 days behind bars for that offence and was released about a month before his arrest in the current case, the judge noted in January. Lloyd also committed five more offences while on bail for the latest trafficking charge. As a result, he has been in custody since May 2013. - - The Canadian Press - --- MAP posted-by: Matt