Case information
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37715
A.R. J.D. v. Her Majesty the Queen
(Alberta) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-02-21 | Appeal closed | |
| 2018-02-20 | Transcript received, 35 pages | |
| 2018-02-15 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2018-02-15 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2018-02-09 | General proceeding, Questionnaire regarding the publication ban | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-02-09 | General proceeding, (Letter Form), Questionnaire regarding the publication ban | A.R. J.D. |
| 2018-02-09 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), (14 copies) Sumbitted in court room. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-02-09 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), (14 copies) submitted in court room | A.R. J.D. |
| 2018-02-09 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Mo Ka Ga Côt Br, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Edmonton), Number 1603-0074-A, 2017 ABCA 237, dated July 19, 2017, was heard on February 9, 2018, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: THE CHIEF JUSTICE — The appellant was acquitted at trial of three sexual offences alleged to have been committed against his stepdaughter when she was between the ages of 11 and 16. A majority of the Court of Appeal of Alberta allowed the Crown’s appeal. The appellant now appeals to this Court as of right. We would dismiss, substantially for the reasons of the majority of the Court of Appeal. In considering the lack of evidence of the complainant’s avoidance of the appellant, the trial judge committed the very error he had earlier in his reasons instructed himself against: he judged the complainant’s credibility based solely on the correspondence between her behaviour and the expected behaviour of the stereotypical victim of sexual assault. This constituted an error of law. We do not read the majority reasons, including paras. 39 and 41 highlighted by the defence, as suggesting otherwise. The appeal is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2018-02-09 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2018-02-09, CJ Abe Mo Ka Ga Côt Br Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-02-05 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Brittany Symyrozum (Email) requested a secondreserved seat for the hearing. | A.R. J.D. |
| 2018-02-05 | Correspondence received from, Brittany Symyrozum (Email) requested one reserved seat for the hearing. | A.R. J.D. |
| 2018-01-31 | Supplemental document, (Letter Form), Supplemental Authorities, Completed on: 2018-01-31 | A.R. J.D. |
| 2018-01-31 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Supplemental Authorities will be included in the appellant's condensed book. | A.R. J.D. |
| 2018-01-25 | Notice of appearance, Kent Teskey and Lindsay Tate will be appearing and will present oral argument. | A.R. J.D. |
| 2018-01-22 | Notice of appearance, David A. Labrenz, Q.C. will be appearing and will present oral argument. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-01-19 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2018-01-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23B (REVISED version filed on 2018-01-17) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-01-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23A | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-01-12 | Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-01-12 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-01-12 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Amended form 23B required (received 2018-01-17)., Completed on: 2018-01-22 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2017-11-24 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | A.R. J.D. |
| 2017-11-22 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2017-11-22 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2018-02-09, EARLY 9:00AM START Judgment rendered |
|
| 2017-11-10 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record) | A.R. J.D. |
| 2017-11-10 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), Missing: Electronic version-rec'd 2017/11/24, Completed on: 2017-11-10 | A.R. J.D. |
| 2017-11-10 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2017-11-10 | A.R. J.D. |
| 2017-10-30 | Order on motion to extend time, (by the REGISTRAR) | |
| 2017-10-30 |
Decision on motion to extend time, Reg, UPON APPLICATION by the appellant for an order extending the time to serve and file its factum, record, and book of authorities to November 10, 2017 and for an order extending the time to serve and file the respondent’s factum, record, and book of authorities to January 19, 2018; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; AND NOTING the consent of the respondent; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion is granted. Granted |
|
| 2017-10-30 | Submission of motion to extend time, Reg | |
| 2017-10-26 | Response to motion to extend time, (Letter Form), by email from D. Lynne Watt, Completed on: 2017-10-26 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2017-10-25 | Motion to extend time, (Letter Form), to serve and file appeal documents, Completed on: 2017-10-25, (Printed version filed on 2017-10-25) | A.R. J.D. |
| 2017-10-11 | Correspondence received from, Kent J. Teskey, Q.C., dated October 11, 2017, by fax, Re: Late filing of Appellant's factum | A.R. J.D. |
| 2017-09-27 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2017-08-30 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal | |
| 2017-08-29 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), Form 23B | A.R. J.D. |
| 2017-08-29 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), Form 23A | A.R. J.D. |
| 2017-08-29 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2017-08-29 | A.R. J.D. |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| J.D., A.R. | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: J.D., A.R.
Counsel
Lindsay Tate
300, 10150 - 100 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 0P6
Telephone: (780) 424-8866
FAX: (780) 426-1470
Email: kteskey@pringlelaw.ca
Agent
900 - 275 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5H9
Telephone: (613) 691-1224
FAX: (613) 691-1338
Email: mdillon@supremelawgroup.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
3rd Floor, Bowker Bldg.
9833 - 109 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2E8
Telephone: (780) 422-5402
FAX: (780) 422-1106
Email: david.labrenz@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
Criminal law - Appeals - Sexual assault - Evidence - Behaviour of complainant - Whether Crown raised the necessary question of law as required under s. 676(1)(a) of the Criminal Code - Whether trial judge erred by relying on stereotypical assumptions about how victim of sexual assault would behave.
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.
The appellant was acquitted at trial of three sexual offences alleged to have been committed against his stepdaughter: one count of sexual assault (s. 271 of the Criminal Code) and two counts of sexual interference (s. 151 of the Criminal Code). The complainant testified that over a number of years, when she was between the ages of 11 and 16, the appellant touched her sexually numerous times. The appellant denied the allegations.
The Crown appealed the acquittals. The majority in the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, set aside the acquittals and ordered a new trial. It was of the view that the trial judge erred by relying on an impermissible stereotype, or myth, about the behaviour of sexual assault victims in assessing the complainant’s credibility and acquitting the accused. Slatter J.A., dissenting, would have dismissed the appeal. In his opinion, the Crown had not shown that the trial judge made the asserted error.
Lower court rulings
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
140876020Q1
Appellant acquitted of three sexual offences
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Edmonton)
1603-0074-A, 2017 ABCA 237
Appeal allowed: acquittal set aside and new trial ordered
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
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