The Supreme Court of Canada will say Thursday whether it will hear an appeal by Richard Suter of his 26-month sentence for crashing his SUV into an Edmonton patio, killing a young boy.
The court will announce its decision at 9:45 a.m. EST.
In December 2015, Suter was sentenced to four months in jail and a five-year driving suspension after he pleaded guilty to refusing to provide a breath sample after a collision causing death.
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The judge ruled that witnesses wrongly assumed that Suter was drunk after his vehicle plowed into the patio in May 2013.
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At his sentencing, Suter said he had consumed three drinks over the four hours before the crash but was not drunk. He said he had been arguing with his wife about a divorce and mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brakes of his SUV. His vehicle pinned two-year-old Geo Mounsef against a wall and killed him.
Suter appealed the sentence in January 2016, arguing he should not be in jail or face such a long driving suspension. The Crown, which had initially recommended a three-year prison term, also filed an appeal, seeking a harsher sentence.
In August, the Crown’s appeal was allowed and Suter was slapped with a 26-month sentence, while his driving ban remaining unchanged.
In October, Suter’s lawyer appealed the sentence to the Supreme Court.
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With files from the Canadian Press