SUPREME COURT OF NOVA SCOTIA
Citation: R. v. Ferguson, 2013 NSSC 191
Date: 20130624
Docket: Bwt.411073
Registry: Bridgewater
Between:
Her Majesty the Queen
Appellant
v.
Pamela B. Ferguson
Respondent
Judge: The Honourable Justice C. Richard Coughlan
Heard: May 29, 2013 at Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
Counsel: Sharon A. Goodwin, for the appellant
Richard W. Norman, for the respondent
LIBRARY HEADING
Judge: The Honourable Justice C. Richard Coughlan
Subject: Motor Vehicles; Offence - Use of hand-held cellular telephone.
Summary: The accused while operating a motor vehicle held her cellular telephone in her hand. She was not talking on the telephone, did not have the telephone up to her mouth or ear. She was not texting. The accused was checking Google MapQuest. The judge found checking Google MapQuest on the cellular telephone qualifies as a use. The trial judge adapted a definition of “hand-held cellular telephone” once contained in the Highway Traffic Act of Newfoundland and Labrador. Using that definition the judge concluded the accused wasnot using a “hand-held cellular telephone” and acquitted the accused.
Issue: Was the accused using a hand-held cellular telephone?
Result: On the facts a found by the trial judge the accused was using a hand-held cellular telephone while operating a vehicle on a highway. The appeal is allowed, the appeal is set aside and a conviction entered.
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