Search judgments by proposition, citation, court, judge or legal topic, then move directly into the source-grounded case analysis.
Results update automatically as you type.
Canada decisions
Decisions matching the current search
The court acquitted Brent Angus McCook of second degree murder but convicted him of manslaughter, finding advanced intoxication raised reasonable doubt about specific intent.
The court acquitted Corey Richard Harkness of second-degree murder after finding the sole eyewitness unreliable and the forensic evidence left a reasonable doubt.
The trial judge's factual findings that the beating was especially brutal and that the appellant returned to the body to slash the throat supplied an intelligible basis to infer intent to kill or to cause serious bodily harm likely to cause death; those findings sufficiently refuted the alternative theory and the reasons met the functional test, so the appeal is dismissed.
Source excerpt
Although the Court of Appeal could impose sentence under s.686(3)(b), the anticipated contested evidentiary nature of the sentencing (victim impact evidence, disputed facts and likely Gardiner hearing), together with the suitability of the trial court to receive lengthy contested proceedings, made remittal to the trial court the appropriate course; accordingly the matter was remitted for sentencing on the substituted conviction of second degree murder.
Source excerpt
On the majority outcome the Court upheld Mr. Triolo’s conviction and sentence, finding the fresh expert evidence inadmissible on appeal, the in‑court identification admissible, the verdict reasonable, no air of reality for provocation, the Vetrovec warning and ASF interpretation adequate, and no reversible error on jury charge balance; the Court further held there was no required direction on consent for aiding and no air of reality for an intoxication defence by Lozada; the causation instruction did not vitiate convictions in the majority view; the 12‑year parole ineligibility was not demons…
Source excerpt
Pre-trial application in a first-degree murder case seeking leave to call third-party suspect evidence was dismissed for lack of a sufficient evidentiary link.
The Yukon Court of Appeal dismissed Darryl Sheepway’s appeal from a second-degree murder conviction, finding no reversible error in the trial judge’s treatment of intent, evidence, or expert rebuttal.
The Supreme Court of Canada restored a second-degree murder conviction, holding there was no air of reality to the defence of provocation.
The trial judge did not commit reversible error: demeanour and post-offence conduct evidence were properly admitted and adequately instructed upon; Crown closing remarks, though containing one improper comment about reactions to photos, did not render the trial unfair in the context of the trial as a whole; exclusion of the Frost homicide evidence was justified for lack of an air of reality; and a properly instructed jury could reasonably conclude the appellant was the killer. Appeal dismissed and convictions affirmed.
Source excerpt
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the Crown’s appeal in a murder conviction case, leaving in place the order for a new trial after jury-instruction concerns.
Explore more
