Law360 Canada ( August 22, 2025, 10:33 AM EDT) -- Appeal by Chiarelli who was found guilty by a jury of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The issue at trial was whether Chiarelli was in possession of the cocaine. Chiarelli argued that the Crown had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew the cocaine was in the trunk. Chiarelli appealed his conviction on several grounds, including that the trial judge failed to provide a limiting instruction on the use of opinion evidence provided by the two police officers. He also alleged that the trial judge erred in failing to provide a Vetrovec instruction regarding the evidence of one of the passengers in the car and by inviting the jury to infer that Chiarelli was aware the cocaine was in the trunk based on its value and the number of cell phones in the car. Chiarelli also argued that the jury rendered an unreasonable verdict. The Crown argued that, if the trial judge erred in admitting the police officers’ opinion evidence, this court should apply the curative proviso....