Case information
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36448
Jonathan David Meer v. Her Majesty the Queen
(Alberta) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-10 | Appeal closed | |
| 2016-02-03 | Transcript received, 17 pages | |
| 2016-01-22 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2016-01-22 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2016-01-21 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Cro Mo Ka Wa Ga, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Edmonton), Number 1103-0029-A, 2015 ABCA 141, dated April 17, 2015, was heard on January 21, 2016, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: THE CHIEF JUSTICE — This appeal as of right comes to us based on the dissent of Berger J.A. in the Court of Appeal of Alberta. The learned Justice of Appeal was of the view that trial counsel’s conduct of the case (not counsel before us) was “woefully incompetent” and that “it cannot be safely concluded that the appellant received a fair trial”: reasons on appeal, at para. 153 (2015 ABCA 141, 600 A.R. 66). We are all of the view that the appeal must be dismissed. To succeed in setting aside a trial verdict on the basis of the ineffective assistance of counsel, the appellant must show “first, that counsel’s acts or omissions constituted incompetence and second, that a miscarriage of justice resulted”: R. v. G.D.B., 2000 SCC 22, [2000] 1 S.C.R. 520, at para. 26. Aside from finding that “[c]ounsel’s ineffectiveness pertains to critical aspects of the trial”, the learned dissenting Justice did not indicate how the instances which he identified of counsel’s incompetence had occasioned a miscarriage of justice: reasons on appeal, at para. 153. As this Court noted in G.D.B., miscarriages of justice may take many forms in the context of ineffective assistance of counsel. While the Court of Appeal addressed a wide range of issues, we need comment only on one: we are not persuaded that there was any miscarriage of justice in any of its forms in this case. The appeal is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2016-01-21 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2016-01-21, CJ Abe Cro Mo Ka Wa Ga Judgment rendered |
|
| 2016-01-21 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), Filed in Court | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2016-01-21 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), Filed in Court | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2016-01-14 | Notice of appearance, Mr. Dale M. Knisely will be appearing | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2016-01-04 | Notice of appearance, Maureen McGuire and Cheryl Schlecker will be appearing | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-12-04 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2015-11-27 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2015-11-26 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2016-01-21, (previously tentatively scheduled for November 12, 2015) Judgment rendered |
|
| 2015-10-16 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2015-10-16 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2015-10-16 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2015-10-15 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The motion for an extension of time to serve and file the application for leave to appeal is granted. The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Edmonton), Number 1103-0029-A, 2015 ABCA 141, dated April 17, 2015, is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2015-10-15 |
Decision on motion to extend time to file and /or serve the leave application, See Judgment on leave application. Granted |
|
| 2015-10-08 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-10-08 | Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2015-10-08 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-10-08 | Respondent's record, Completed on: 2015-10-08 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-10-08 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2015-10-08 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-08-13 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record) | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-08-13 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2015-08-13 | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-08-13 | Appellant's record, (4 volumes), Completed on: 2015-08-13 | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-08-13 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2015-08-13 | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-08-10 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, Ro Cro Mo | |
| 2015-08-10 | Submission of motion to extend time to file and/ or serve the leave application, Ro Cro Mo | |
| 2015-08-05 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2015-08-05 | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-07-31 | Certificate (on limitations to public access) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-07-31 | Response to the motion to extend the time to file and / or serve the leave application, (Included in the respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal), Completed on: 2015-07-31 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-07-31 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2015-07-31, (Electronic version filed on 2015-07-31) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-07-16 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2015-07-16 | Certificate (on limitations to public access) | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-07-16 | Motion to extend the time to file and or serve the application for leave to appeal, (Included in the application for leave to appeal), Completed on: 2015-07-16 | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-07-16 | Application for leave to appeal, Both orders missing - Rec'd on 2015-08-13, Completed on: 2015-08-17 | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-06-05 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2015-06-05 | Order on motion to extend time, (by JUSTICE GASCON) | |
| 2015-06-05 |
Decision on motion to extend time, Ga, UPON APPLICATION by the appellant for an order extending the time to serve and file its notice of appeal as of right to May 21, 2015; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion is granted. Granted |
|
| 2015-06-05 | Submission of motion to extend time, Ga | |
| 2015-06-02 | Response to motion to extend time, Completed on: 2015-06-02 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2015-05-26 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal | |
| 2015-05-21 | Motion to extend time, (Book Form), Completed on: 2015-05-21 | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-05-21 | Certificate (on limitations to public access) | Jonathan David Meer |
| 2015-05-21 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2015-05-21 | Jonathan David Meer |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Meer, Jonathan David | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Meer, Jonathan David
Counsel
Marie-France Major
830 - 10020, 101A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 3G2
Telephone: (780) 451-4232
FAX: (780) 425-1289
Email: dale@kship.ca
Agent
100 - 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 101
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: emeehan@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Cheryl Schlecker
3rd Floor, 9833 - 109 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2E8
Telephone: (780) 422-5402
FAX: (780) 422-1106
Email: maureen.mcguire@gov.ab.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
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 - Ineffective assistance of counsel - Whether there was a miscarriage of justice occasioned by the ineffective and incompetent assistance of the appellant’s trial counsel.
The appellant was convicted of arson, extortion and obstruction of justice, as well as of conspiracy to commit arson, extortion, obstruction of justice and assault. He appealed his conviction, arguing, among other things, that he did not receive a fair trial because his trial counsel was incompetent. A majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. Berger J.A., dissenting, would have allowed the appeal, set aside the convictions and ordered a new trial. In his view, the appellant’s trial counsel was not adequately prepared for trial, was oblivious to the real prospect that certain trial issues would emerge and was ignorant of the applicable and well-established law pertaining to those issues. Berger J.A. concluded that trial counsel’s “woeful” incompetence pertained to critical aspects of the trial such that the appellant was denied effective representation.
Lower court rulings
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
080543575Q1, 2010 ABQB 768
Applicant convicted of assault, arson, extortion, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to commit extortion, and conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Edmonton)
1103-0029-A, 2015 ABCA 141
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.
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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.
Downloadable PDFs
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