McIntyre v. The King

Parties

Procedural Posture

Criminal Rape / Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada From Court of Appeal for Ontario (conviction Affirmed Below)

Legal Issues

1. 1 Whether evidence of a matted down area observed after the event could legally corroborate the complainant on the central issue of consent
2. 2 Whether the trial judge misdirected the jury by treating that post‑event observation as corroboration of a material aspect of the complainant's testimony she had not given
3. 3 Whether any misdirection was harmless or required quashing the conviction and ordering a new trial

Ratio Decidendi

The trial judge misdirected the jury by stating that evidence of a matted down area discovered after the event corroborated a material aspect of the complainant's story when the complainant had not testified to that fact; that misdirection could have influenced the jury and thus the conviction was quashed and a new trial ordered.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; conviction quashed; new trial directed.

Orders

• Conviction quashed
• New trial ordered