Forgery
R. v. Stokes
Sentence and the Crown's position
A conditional sentence is served in the community, usually under house arrest. It counts as no custody here.
What the law allows
Angela Stokes pleaded guilty to forgery after signing her sister's name on a $25,000 life insurance application at the insurance company where she worked, naming herself as beneficiary. The Crown sought a three-month conditional sentence followed by probation; the defence sought a conditional discharge. Judge van der Hoek imposed a three-month conditional sentence with house arrest followed by 12 months of probation, saying the sentence needed a deterrent effect for forgery in the workplace.
In the judge's words
1It requires a sentence with a deterrent effect that will serve to remind the public that even those without record who commit forgery in the workplace will pay a heavy price.
The record
Sources
- R. v. Stokes, 2021 NSPC 25 Court decision, CanLII, June 9, 2021
[7] … The Crown seeks a CSO for three months with house arrest for the entirety with exceptions to facilitate operation of
[8] The defence seeks a conditional discharge following a 15–18-month period of probation with, among other things, 100 hours of community service.
Angela Stokes
[29] … also benefits from the lack of a criminal record
[42] … It requires a sentence with a deterrent effect that will serve to remind the public that even those without record who commit forgery in the workplace will pay a heavy price.
[42] … For that reason, I am imposing a conditional sentence of three months with house arrest and the conditions sought by the Crown. I am also imposing a period of probation to follow that allows the Court to impose community service work in the public interest and aid … sister in knowing she will not have contact with … without her explicit consent for a period of 12 months.
- Criminal Code, s. 367 Record, Justice Laws Website
- R. v. Stokes, 2021 NSPC 25 Court decision, Courts of Nova Scotia