SaskatchewanThe Crown has filed its written arguments in its appeal of a high-profile cannabis impairment case in Saskatoon. Taylor Kennedy hit nine-year-old Baeleigh Maurice with a truck in 2021, but the trial judge stayed the charge because the trial took too long.Written arguments filed with Saskatchewan Court of AppealAliyah Marko-Omene · CBC News · Posted: Sep 19, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoTaylor Kennedy, right, is shown in a file photo leaving Saskatoon provincial court. Her charge of impaired driving causing death was stayed by the judge, but the Crown is appealing that decision. (Dayne Patterson/CBC)The Crown has filed its written arguments with the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in a high-profile cannabis impairment case in Saskatoon.Taylor Kennedy was charged with impaired driving causing death after nine-year-old Baeleigh Maurice died when Kennedy hit her with her truck on Sept. 9, 2021. Kennedy told police she had vaped cannabis and microdosed psilocybin mushrooms the day before.The case went to trial, and provincial court judge Jane Wootten stayed the charge on Dec. 13, 2024, ruling that the trial went longer than the 18-month time limit set by the Supreme Court. Her decision was met with shock and anger in the courtroom, and the Crown filed its appeal the following month.Kennedy was charged on March 15, 2022. Final arguments in the trial took place Aug. 30, 2024.Kennedy’s defence argued that, outside reasonable delays, the case had taken 23 months. The Crown argued that when all reasonable delays were factored in, such as constitutional and Charter challenges and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the case had taken about 14 months. In her lengthy oral decision, Wootten said she calculated the delay at about six months longer than the 18-month limit.Part of the appeal process involves filing written arguments, which the Crown did last month. Its main arguments revolve around the judge’s calculations, including that the judge erred by concluding there was no evidence allowing for the COVID backlog delay to be quantified. WATCH | Sask. lawyers say judge had no choice but to stay charges: Sask. lawyers say judge had no choice but to stay charges in Baeleigh Maurice caseA provincial court judge stayed charges last month in a high-profile THC-impaired driving case after it dragged past an 18-month limit. Nine-year-old Baeleigh Maurice was struck and killed on a crosswalk by a driver who admitted she consumed drugs the day prior, but denied being impaired.The factum also argues there were errors in the classification of delays around a trial continuance and the availability of the defence to make final arguments. The Crown said the proper calculation of actual trial delay is 504 days, which is under the 18-month, or 540-day, ceiling. Defence lawyer Thomas Hynes said he has not yet filed the defence factum with the court.”We remain confident the Court of Appeal will uphold the trial judge’s decision on delay,” he said in an email. A date for the appeal to be heard has not yet been set.ABOUT THE AUTHORAliyah Marko-Omene is a reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. She has previously worked for CBC and Toronto Star in Toronto. You can reach her at aliyah.marko@cbc.ca. With files from Kendall Latimer
Crown takes issue with judge’s calculations about delay in THC-impaired driving appeal
