Case information
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34889
Her Majesty the Queen v. Fredrick Owen Blacklaws
(British Columbia) (Criminal) (As of Right)
(Publication ban in case)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-04-03 | Appeal closed | |
| 2013-02-28 | Transcript received, (55 pages) | |
| 2013-02-18 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2013-02-18 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2013-02-15 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ F Abe Ro Mo, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA038353, 2012 BCCA 217, dated May 22, 2012, was heard on February 15, 2013, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: THE CHIEF JUSTICE — We are all of the view that the appeal should be allowed, for the reasons of Chief Justice Finch. Allowed |
|
| 2013-02-15 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2013-02-15, CJ F Abe Ro Mo Judgment rendered |
|
| 2013-02-15 | General proceeding, Questionnaire on Publication Ban | Fredrick Owen Blacklaws |
| 2013-02-15 | General proceeding, Questionnaire on Publication Ban | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2013-02-15 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, All parties consented | |
| 2013-02-15 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), Filed in Court | Fredrick Owen Blacklaws |
| 2013-02-15 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), Filed in Court | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2013-02-14 | Notice of appearance, Susan J. Brown will be participating | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2013-02-05 | Correspondence received from, Gowlings re: 1 more reserved seats | Fredrick Owen Blacklaws |
| 2013-01-24 | Correspondence received from, Gowlings rec'd by email re: request 7 reserved seats | Fredrick Owen Blacklaws |
| 2013-01-03 | Notice of appearance, Lawrence Myers, Q.C. and Brent Anderson will be appearing | Fredrick Owen Blacklaws |
| 2012-12-10 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2012-11-22 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2013-02-15 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2012-11-14 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2012-11-07 | Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2012-11-07 | Fredrick Owen Blacklaws |
| 2012-11-07 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2012-11-07 | Fredrick Owen Blacklaws |
| 2012-09-12 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (5 volumes filed) - Vol 1 contains information to pertaining the publication ban, Completed on: 2012-09-12 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2012-09-12 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2012-09-12 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2012-09-12 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2012-09-12 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2012-07-04 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2012-06-20 | Notice of appeal, Bookform, Completed on: 2012-06-20 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Blacklaws, Fredrick Owen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Criminal Appeals
6th Floor, 865 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G3
Telephone: (604) 660-1126
FAX: (604) 660-1133
Email: susan.j.brown@gov.bc.ca
Agent
441 MacLaren Street
Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2H3
Telephone: (613) 236-9665
FAX: (613) 235-4430
Email: rhouston@burkerobertson.com
Party: Blacklaws, Fredrick Owen
Counsel
Brent R. Anderson
5th Floor - 195 Alexander Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6A 1B8
Telephone: (604) 688-8331
FAX: (604) 688-8350
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
Summary
Keywords
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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 Procedure Application to sever counts Whether trial judge’s refusal to sever counts wrong in law or unreasonable and thus resulted in injustice Application of R. v. Last, [2009] 3 S.C.R. 146, 2009 SCC 45.
The respondent was convicted on charges of two counts of unlawful confinement, one count of attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle with attempt to commit sexual assault causing bodily harm, one count of sexual assault causing bodily harm, and one count of assault causing bodily harm. The charges arose from two separate incidents involving different complainants, but the Crown charged the counts related to both on the same indictment. At trial, the respondent unsuccessfully applied to have the charges severed. He appealed, arguing that the trial judge acted unjudicially in making the ruling and that his decision resulted in an injustice. The majority of the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal on the basis that the denial of severance resulted in an injustice. In its view, there was no truth seeking interest in trying the counts together, there was a good likelihood that propensity reasoning or cross-pollination would occur, and the respondent had waived his right to be tried in a reasonable time. When these factors were weighed together, the majority found that the risk of prejudice to the respondent outweighed the potential benefits. Chief Justice Finch, dissenting, would have dismissed the appeal.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
24930
See file
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
CA038353, 2012 BCCA 217
See file
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted 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 the memorandum by filing 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 memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
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.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available