Crown Attorney to Present at Ontario Crown School

Sydney Crown attorney Steve Drake will present a case study at the prestigious Ontario Crown School on Aug. 19.

Mr. Drake will participate in the week-long homicide summer school schedule at Western University in London. The school, in operation for more than 30 years, is widely regarded as the top teaching facility in Canada for Crown attorneys.

The school focuses on various aspects of a homicide prosecution including presentation of the case, self-defence, provocation, forensic pathology and homicide sentencing.

Mr. Drake will speak about the legal significance of the decision in R. v. Melvin Skeete, a Cape Breton case in which a 16-year-old boy stabbed his 17 year old girlfriend 104 times. Mr. Drake and Chief Crown attorney Dan MacRury successfully prosecuted the case last year in which Mr. Skeete was convicted of second degree murder and received an adult sentence to life in prison.

"Mr. Drake is the first Crown attorney outside Ontario to present at the course," said Robin Flumerfelt, Crown counsel and director of the course. "I hope this is the beginning of a tradition."

"The Skeete case presents an ideal set of circumstances to illustrate the intricate workings between the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Criminal Code of Canada, said Mr. Drake. "The case was complex to prosecute due to multiple contested issues including mental intent, provocation, intoxication and competing forensic psychiatric opinions on Skeete's ability to form the intent to murder Brittany Greene."

"I am honoured to be selected as the first 'come from away' Crown to present at the school. I attended the school as a student but never imagined I would be asked to participate in the presentation of a course, especially the homicide course."