'I trusted the system to handle it': N.L. justice department mum on cases tossed due to delays
Minister told frequency of applications ‘greatly diminished,’ but no public numbers to back that up
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
At that time, back in 2021, he was a student living alone and wanted companionship.
After finding what seemed like a legitimate offer online, Leamon shelled out a "few thousand" dollars — but never did receive the dog.
"The seller disappeared and I was left with nothing," Leamon said in a recent interview with CBC News.
Leamon wasn't the only one who believed he was scammed.
The RCMP investigated, and in mid-2022 filed fraud charges against a man and woman living in eastern Newfoundland. There were 23 alleged victims named in court documents.
"We reported to authorities looking for justice, but unfortunately that never did happen," Leamon said.
Fast forward 2½ years, to early January of this year.
Lawyers for the two accused had filed a so-called Jordan application, contending that it had taken too long for the case to get to trial.
The prosecutor, who appeared at provincial court in St. John's on Jan. 7, called no evidence and those 23 fraud charges were all withdrawn.
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Back in western Newfoundland, Leamon says he didn't know any of that had happened until he was contacted by CBC News nearly two months later.
"It's frustrating, disappointing, to say the least," he said.
"I am shocked. Losing the money was bad enough, but not even being told that the case was dropped makes it feel like it didn't matter. I trusted the system to handle it and I wasn't even given the courtesy of an update. It just makes me wonder how many other victims are left in the dark like this?"
If the provincial Department of Justice has the answer, it is not sharing it publicly.
Last October, officials penned a briefing note for Justice Minister Bernard Davis, in the event he was asked about cases like these in the House of Assembly.
"The frequency of Jordan applications has greatly diminished over the last number of years," that briefing note advised. It was released through access to information.
So CBC News asked the justice department for the numbers to support that statement — including the number of Jordan applications filed each year, broken down by level of court and how they were resolved.
The Department of Justice declined to provide that data.
In an email, spokesperson Eric Humber advised that "Jordan applications filed at court are reflective as a snapshot in time."
So does that mean the department doesn't track data related to Jordan cases, or does it track this data and won't discuss or release it publicly?
"Applications made under [Jordan] are fluid, and the number of applications filed reflect a moment in time," Humber replied in a follow-up email.
The department did not make anyone available for an interview for this story in response to initial requests more than a month ago.
While the department can't — or won't — provide any more information, CBC News has been tracking what seemed to be an unusual spike in Jordan applications in the province over recent months.
Here's what we found.
In the Jordan decision, the Supreme Court of Canada set timelines for trials to be concluded from the time someone is charged.
The limit is 18 months in provincial court, and 30 months in Supreme Court. Anything longer than that is presumed to be unreasonable, unless those delays can be justified.
As of last September, there were just three outstanding provincial court Jordan applications here. That's according to the briefing note provided to Newfoundland and Labrador's justice minister in October.
But by late November, CBC News found as many as 15 active Jordan applications in progress at provincial court alone. That's according to a review of provincial court dockets, audio of proceedings and associated court filings.
In a one-month period from early January through early February, 10 people saw their charges dropped because of trial delays.
Seven of them were Innu Nation members who had been accused of illegal hunting and possession of caribou under the Wildlife Act.
Two of the people who walked without a trial were those accused in the alleged puppy scam that ensnared Colby Leamon and 22 others.
Groggy driver swerved into traffic, charges dropped
The remaining matter was an impaired driving case that dated back to the spring of 2021.
According to court documents, the RNC received a call after midnight of a subcompact hatchback swerving all over the road, and into oncoming traffic.
Officers tracked down the car and pulled it over on Topsail Road in Conception Bay South. The driver had bloodshot eyes, was groggy, and had trouble putting together sentences and answering basic questions.
The RNC found marijuana, and told the driver he would be taken to the detachment in Mount Pearl for testing by a drug recognition expert.
Before leaving the scene, the arresting officer asked the driver if he would like his vehicle moved to a safer place. He said yes, but told police they wouldn't need to move it because his passenger could do that. However, there was no passenger; he was the only one in the car.
On Jan. 10 of this year — 1,329 days later — the judge granted a Jordan application, and dismissed the charges.
Another impaired driving case had been tossed at provincial court in St. John's less than two months earlier, in mid-November.
Not all Jordan applications were successful, however.
At least four filed at provincial court were rejected over a span of around two months in late 2024 and early 2025. Those included cases of sexual assault, forcible confinement, aggravated assault, and possession for the purposes of trafficking.
According to published decisions, two more failed Jordan applications were denied at Supreme Court in St. John's last fall — one theft case, the other involving sexual offences.
Other provinces do track and publicly disclose Jordan-related information.
Alberta reported 27 Jordan applications filed over a one-year period ending in March 2024. Two of those applications were granted, and eight were proactively stayed by the Crown.
That appears to be a stark contrast to Newfoundland and Labrador, where 10 accused had their cases dropped because of Jordan in a recent one-month period alone.
Murder charge stayed in summer of 2024
Last summer, a Supreme Court judge stayed proceedings against a man charged with murder after a 2020 homicide in St. John's.
Ironically, both the accused and the victim had previously filed separate successful Jordan applications years earlier, to have drug charges tossed.
In the wake of the judge's decision to halt the murder case last September, Justice Minister Bernard Davis told reporters his officials were evaluating ways to improve the system.
The Crown has since filed an appeal.
Meanwhile, at Supreme Court in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, the defence lawyer in another murder case recently indicated that a Jordan application may be forthcoming.
Eric Rich was charged in 2021 and found guilty of second-degree murder in December.
Defence lawyer Mark Gruchy told the court on Jan. 17 that he had "received instructions from Mr. Rich to seek an adjudication of the Jordan issues in the case before the sentencing concludes."
As of earlier this week, court officials in Labrador said no Jordan application had been filed. Gruchy did not respond to an emailed request for an update.
The case is due back in June for sentencing.
Last fall, after prosecutors went public with concerns about overwhelming workloads, the justice minister said work was underway to address the issue.
A week later, Davis announced that 18 new prosecutors would be hired over the next three years.
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The Department of Justice recently told CBC News that there were four active Jordan applications filed at provincial court as of mid-February.
Applications currently on the docket include an impaired driving case being heard in western Labrador, and an assault case in St. John's.
'Their day of justice never came'
Jeremy Mitchell was one of the nearly two dozen complainants in the alleged puppy scam that recently got thrown out.
His family wanted to get a Siberian husky a few years back. They ended up dealing with the same breeder as Leamon.
Mitchell says there were "red flags" pretty much right away. The sellers said they would lower the price if he would send cash quickly.
"We never did get the dog and [were] out quite a large sum of money," Mitchell said in a recent interview.
He and other alleged victims found each other in a Facebook group, and went to police.
"Right across the island, these people were being targeted," he said.
Mitchell says the court process moved slowly, before eventually grinding to a halt — something he didn't know had happened until being contacted by CBC News.
WATCH | Here's what reporter Rob Antle found about the number of dismissed cases:
"They were on the dockets. There were many court dates where they just kept getting deferred and pushed off," he said.
"I guess their day of justice never came."
He understands some people may not think this is a big deal, but to the families who reported being bilked, $1,000 can be a lot of money.
"It's disheartening knowing that our justice system is flawed," Mitchell said.
"These people have no repercussions of what happened. There's nothing that's going to stop them from doing it again."
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