Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
33817
Her Majesty the Queen v. Marty David O'Brien
(Nova Scotia) (Criminal) (As of Right)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2011-06-15 | Appeal closed | |
| 2011-06-10 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2011-06-10 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2011-06-09 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Bi LeB De Abe Ro Cro, The appeal from the judgment of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Number CAC 310964, 2010 NSCA 61, dated July 14, 2010, heard on February 23, 2011, is allowed and the convictions restored, Binnie and LeBel JJ. dissenting. Allowed |
|
| 2011-03-11 | Transcript received, (45 pages) | |
| 2011-02-23 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2011-02-23 | Respondent's condensed book, Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Marty David O'Brien |
| 2011-02-23 | Appellant's condensed book, Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2011-02-23 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From both parties | |
| 2011-02-23 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2011-02-23, CJ Bi LeB De Abe Ro Cro Judgment reserved |
|
| 2011-02-11 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2011-02-09 | Notice of appearance, Robert Gregan and Pavel Boubnov will be present at the hearing. | Marty David O'Brien |
| 2011-02-02 | Notice of appearance, Kenneth Fiske and William Delaney will be present at the hearing. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2011-01-31 | Correspondence received from, Marie-France Major dated Jan. 28/11 re: add pages 17, 18 and 19 to the factum of the Respondent (service by fax) (sent to the Court Jan. 31/11) | Marty David O'Brien |
| 2011-01-24 | Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2011-01-24 | Marty David O'Brien |
| 2011-01-24 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2011-01-24 | Marty David O'Brien |
| 2010-12-22 | Correspondence received from, R. M. Gregan dated Dec. 22/10 re: Change of counsel from Pavel V. Boubnov of Bacchus & Associates to Nova Scotia Legal Aid | Marty David O'Brien |
| 2010-12-14 | Order on motion to extend time | |
| 2010-12-14 |
Decision on motion to extend time, Reg, to serve and file the Appellant's Factum and Authorities to Nov. 25/10 and the Record to Nov. 29/10 Granted |
|
| 2010-12-14 | Submission of motion to extend time, to serve and file the Appellant's Factum and Authorities to Nov. 25/10 and the Record to Nov. 29/10, Reg | |
| 2010-12-09 | Response to motion to extend time, to serve and file the Appellant's Factum and Authorities to Nov. 25/10 and the Records to Nov. 29/10, Completed on: 2010-12-09 | Marty David O'Brien |
| 2010-12-09 | Motion to extend time, to serve and file the Appellant's Factum and Authorities to Nov. 25/10 and the Records to Nov. 29/10, Completed on: 2010-12-09 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2010-12-07 | Correspondence received from, Henry Brown dated December 7, 2010. Re: Replace page 2 of their factum. (Sent to the Court on december 8, 2010) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2010-11-29 | Appellant's record, (3 volumes), Completed on: 2010-11-29 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2010-11-25 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2010-11-25 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2010-11-25 | Appellant's factum, Ext. of time requested - rec'd Dec. 9/10. Replaced page 2 on Dec. 8, 2010, Completed on: 2010-12-09 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2010-11-16 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2010-11-16 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2011-02-23, (start time 9:30 am) Judgment reserved |
|
| 2010-09-17 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Marie-France Major, dated Sept.17/10, Re: agents for Counsel for the Respondent | Marty David O'Brien |
| 2010-09-17 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2010-08-26 | Notice of appeal, (copy of the letter sent to the Registrar of the N.S. C/A rec'd Sept. 13/10), Completed on: 2010-08-26 | Her Majesty the Queen |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| O'Brien, Marty David | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
William D. Delaney
1505 Barrington Street, Suite 1225
Maritime Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3K5
Telephone: (902) 424-6794
FAX: (902) 424-4484
Email: fiskekw@gov.ns.ca
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.com
Party: O'Brien, Marty David
Counsel
Roger Burrill
Pavel Boubnov
55 Church Street, PO Box 262
Amherst, Nova Scotia
B4H 3Z2
Telephone: (902) 667-7544
FAX: (902) 667-0030
Email: robert.gregan@nslegalaid.ca
Agent
50 O'Connor Street
Suite 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: marie-france.major@mcmillan.ca
Summary
Keywords
None.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
Criminal law – Evidence – Admissibility – Bad character evidence – Appeals – Curative provision – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to apply the curative provision in s. 686(1)(b)(iii) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46.
The respondent was convicted of robbery, disguise with intent and possession of a weapon, contrary to ss. 344, 351(2) and 88 of the Criminal Code. It is alleged that he robbed a convenience store, wearing a mask and wielding a knife. The mask identified as being used by the robber was found close to the store, a DNA profile was obtained from it, and several years after the incident, the profile was matched to that of the respondent. At trial, the only live issue was identification, and the trial judge concluded that the DNA evidence established the respondent as the robber. On appeal, the majority of the Court of Appeal concluded that while the verdict was not unreasonable, the trial judge erred in admitting extensive bad character evidence. The convictions were quashed and a new trial was ordered. Fichaud J.A., dissenting, would have dismissed the appeal on the basis that while the trial judge erred in law, the error caused no substantial wrong
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Trial Division
CR. Am. 302025, 2010 NSSC 194
See file
Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
CAC 310964, 2010 NSCA 61
Convictions quashed and a new trial ordered.
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
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