A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled a $368 fine Andre Paul Chauvin received for using a cellphone while driving will stand.
Justice Ardith Walkem said Chauvin was convicted in Chilliwack Provincial Court on Sept. 16, 2024.
According to the judge's , the charge stemmed from June 18, 2023 events where a police officer saw Chauvin holding a black cellphone in his right hand while driving.
Chauvin’s grounds of appeal included that the judicial justice misunderstood a reference to a tablet as a handheld device.
He told the court the tablet was not a handheld device but rather "a stock screen attached to my vehicle’s dash."
The constable testified he "observed a black cellphone in the centre console [of the pickup] unsecured and laying on its backside with the screen up."
Chauvin sought a new trial and "a chance at a new trial to plead my case with correct terminology and evidence."
Chauvin also sought to present new evidence, in particular, photographs of the dash of his vehicle showing the built-in console display, and testimony that he was travelling with two husky dogs who he claims were in the front seat and potentially blocking the officer’s view.
The Crown argued the original decision was reasonable and correct at law, and that the judicial justice did not misapprehend the evidence.
Walkem ruled the judicial justice accepted the officer’s very specific and detailed evidence.
“She found Mr. Chauvin’s general evidence of his customary and usual use to be insufficient to create a reasonable doubt that he was using his cellphone while driving on the date charged,” Walkem said.
As such, she dismissed the appeal.
