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.
35665
Vernon Lepine v. Her Majesty the Queen
(Northwest Territories) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-10-31 | Transcript received, 22 pages | |
| 2014-10-20 | Appeal closed | |
| 2014-10-17 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2014-10-17 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2014-10-16 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, Abe Cro Mo Wa Ga, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories, Number 2013 NWTCA 08, A-I-AP-2013-000002, dated November 25, 2013, was heard on October 16, 2014, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: CROMWELL J. ? This appeal as of right comes to us on the dissent of Bielby J.A. in the Court of Appeal of the Northwest Territories. Unlike the majority of the Court of Appeal we see no reason to be in any way critical of the conduct of defence counsel at trial. However, we are not persuaded that the trial judge’s handling of the jury’s question, either in the timing or content of her response, constituted legal error or gave rise to a miscarriage of justice. The jury was immediately reminded not to deliberate until they had heard the addresses of counsel and the judge’s charge provided complete and correct legal instructions that were responsive to their question. The appeal is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2014-10-16 | General proceeding, Questionnaire following hearing | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2014-10-16 | General proceeding, Questionnaire following hearing | Vernon Lepine |
| 2014-10-16 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), Submitted in Court - 14 copies | Vernon Lepine |
| 2014-10-16 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2014-10-16, Abe Cro Mo Wa Ga Decision rendered |
|
| 2014-10-06 | Notice of appearance, Adam Y Karbani will be present | Vernon Lepine |
| 2014-10-03 | Notice of appearance, Nick Devlin and Blair MacPherson will be present | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2014-09-11 | Correspondence received from, Respondent, email dated Sept.11, 2014, re.: Change in Crown Counsel | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2014-09-05 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2014-09-05 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2014-10-16 Decision rendered |
|
| 2014-05-30 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), François Lacasse, re.: Factum of the Respondent the pages are reversed. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2014-05-26 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2014-05-26 | Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-05-26, (Electronic version filed on 2014-05-26) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2014-05-26 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Electronic redacted version submitted + two redacted print copies , Completed on: 2014-05-26, (Printed version filed on 2014-05-26) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2014-03-31 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Vernon Lepine |
| 2014-03-31 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), 3 more copies to be filed (rec'd April 1, 2014), Completed on: 2014-04-02, (Electronic version filed on 2014-03-31) | Vernon Lepine |
| 2014-03-31 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-03-31, (Electronic version filed on 2014-03-31) | Vernon Lepine |
| 2014-03-31 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-04-01, (Electronic version filed on 2014-03-31) | Vernon Lepine |
| 2014-01-15 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2013-12-23 | Notice of appeal, Fees missing - Rec'd on 2014-01-09, Completed on: 2014-01-09 | Vernon Lepine |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lepine, Vernon | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Lepine, Vernon
Counsel
Adam Y. Karbani
10008 - 110 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 1J6
Telephone: (780) 482-5496
FAX: (780) 482-1930
Email: adam@davidsongregory.com
Agent
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Blair MacPherson
Susanne Boucher
130 King Street West
Suite 3400, Box 36
Toronto, Ontario
M5X 1K6
Telephone: (416) 952-6213
FAX: (416) 952-2116
Email: nick.devlin@ppsc-sppc.gc.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
12th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 957-4770
FAX: (613) 941-7865
Email: francois.lacasse@ppsc-sppc.gc.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 - Trial - Jury questions - Charge to jury - Whether the Court of Appeal erred in law by ruling that a verdict is safe where a trial judge fails to provide a response to a question posed by a jury post-evidence but prior to final addresses by counsel and the final charge - Whether the Court of Appeal erred in law by ruling that a standard R. v. W.(D.), [1991] 1 S.C.R. 742, instruction in the final charge is sufficient to answer a question posed by a jury post-evidence but prior to final addresses by counsel and the final charge.
Mr. Lepine was convicted of sexual assault. The complainant testified that she awoke to feel a hand inside her pants and something insider her, and she stated that Mr. Lepine, whom she knew, was present and apologizing. Mr. Lepine denied being present and provided an alibi that was largely confirmed. At trial, the Crown was permitted to put into evidence Mr. Lepine’s entire criminal record. After the close of evidence and before counsels’ final addresses and the trial judge’s final charge were given, the jury asked whether, “in a situation where the decision comes down to a question of credibility, a lack of credibility on the part of the defence [is] enough to pass the beyond a reasonable doubt test”. The trial judge told the jury she would answer the question when she gave it the final charge, although she reminded the jury that it could not form opinions or conclusions until it heard all of counsels’ submissions and her final instructions. Appealing his conviction, Mr. Lepine argued, among other things, that the trial judge erred in failing to answer the question at the time it was asked or later during the charge. A majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. Bielby J.A., dissenting, would have allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories
Appellant convicted of sexual assault
Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories
2013 NWTCA 08, A-I-AP-2013-000002
Appeal dismissed
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
Not available
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