Case information
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37993
Her Majesty the Queen v. Alex Normore
(Newfoundland & Labrador) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-11-21 | Appeal closed | |
| 2018-10-26 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2018-10-26 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2018-10-24 | Transcript received, 33 pages | |
| 2018-10-17 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Côt Row Mar, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador, Number 201601H0065, 2018 NLCA 10, dated February 15, 2018, was heard on October 17, 2018, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: THE CHIEF JUSTICE — Mr. Normore was convicted at trial of attempting to commit murder, uttering a threat to cause death, and breaking and entering a place and committing attempted murder. His appeal against these convictions was allowed by a majority of the Court of Appeal, Hoegg J.A. dissenting. The Crown appeals to this Court as of right. We would allow the appeal. We are of the view that the trial judge did not err in the way in which he addressed a witness’s refusal to answer a question put to him by defence counsel. It was open to the trial judge to take further steps to attempt to elicit an answer from the witness. However, in all the circumstances of this case, including the marginal bearing of defence counsel’s line of questioning on the matters in issue, it was a proper exercise of the trial judge’s discretion to instead, continue with the main proceedings and to leave the issue of potential contempt proceedings against the witness until a later point in time. Even if it is assumed that the trial judge committed an error in the way he addressed the refusal of a witness to answer a question put to him by defence counsel, any such error did not result in a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice, and the convictions should therefore be upheld pursuant to s. 686(1)(b)(iii) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46. The question the witness refused to answer was put to him by defence counsel in an attempt to raise doubts about who wrote two notes found in Mr. Normore’s residence. The trial judge relied on these notes, along with other evidence, to find that Mr. Normore had committed the offences in question. However, in all of the circumstances of this case, including that Mr. Normore subsequently admitted to writing the most incriminating statement in these notes, we are of the view that the trial judge’s failure to take further steps to compel the witness to answer the question put to him could not have had an effect on the verdict. Therefore, the appeal is allowed and the convictions are restored. Allowed |
|
| 2018-10-17 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2018-10-17, CJ Abe Côt Row Mar Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-10-17 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), Submitted in Cour (14 copies) | Alex Normore |
| 2018-10-17 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-09-18 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Mr. Sheldon Steeves will be at the hearing and will present the oral argument. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-09-18 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Mr. Derek Hogan will be at the hearing and will present the oral argument. | Alex Normore |
| 2018-08-27 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2018-08-20 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2018-10-17 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-06-11 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2018-06-01 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Alex Normore |
| 2018-06-01 | Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-06-01 | Alex Normore |
| 2018-06-01 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-06-01 | Alex Normore |
| 2018-04-27 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-04-27 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-04-27 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-04-27 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-04-27 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (4 volumes), Completed on: 2018-04-27 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-04-27 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-04-27 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-15 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2018-03-14 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal | |
| 2018-03-05 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), FILING FEE MISSING - rec'd on April 3, 2018. (Receipt #15254), Completed on: 2018-04-03 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Normore, Alex | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Deptartment of Justice and Public Safety
4th Floor, Atlantic Place - 215 Water Street
St.John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
A1C 6C9
Telephone: (709) 729-6885
FAX: (709) 729-1135
Email: sheldonsteeves@gov.nl.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 783-8817
FAX: (613) 788-3500
Email: robert.houston@gowlingwlg.com
Party: Normore, Alex
Counsel
251 Empire Avenue
Suite 300
St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
A1C 3H9
Telephone: (709) 753-7860
FAX: (709) 753-0026
Email: derekhogan@legalaid.nl.ca
Summary
Keywords
Criminal law - Trial - Witnesses - Contempt of court - Witness refusing to answer question at accused’s trial - Court of Appeal quashing convictions and ordering new trial on basis that trial judge erred in law in not taking further steps to elicit answer from witness - Whether Court of Appeal erred in law in ordering new trial due to trial judge’s failure to invoke contempt proceedings against witness.
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 respondent, Alex Normore, broke into Ronald Thomas’ home and assaulted Mr. Thomas with a large flashlight. Several charges were brought against Mr. Normore as a result of this incident. At Mr. Normore’s trial, defence counsel called Mr. Thomas as a witness. He refused to answer one of the questions. Although the trial judge advised Mr. Thomas that he could be found in contempt, the trial judge did not take any further steps to elicit an answer from Mr. Thomas, since in his view, the answer to the question would not have had much bearing on the trial. Mr. Normore was convicted of attempted murder, uttering death threats, and breaking and entering a place and committing an indictable offence therein.
Mr. Normore appealed his conviction, arguing that the trial judge’s failure to take further steps to compel Mr. Thomas to answer the question was a reversible legal error and precluded a legitimate line of inquiry. The majority of the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, quashed the convictions and ordered a new trial. In its view, the trial judge’s refusal to take further steps to elicit an answer from Mr. Thomas was an error of law. Hoegg J.A., dissenting, would have dismissed the appeal. In her view, the trial judge did not err by failing to invoke contempt proceedings against Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Normore’s ability to fully and fairly defend himself was not compromised nor was his trial rendered unfair.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of Newfoundland & Labrador, Trial Division
201504G0027, 2016 NLTD (G) 43
Respondent convicted of attempted murder, uttering threats to cause death, and breaking and entering a place and committing an indictable offence therein
Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador
201601H0065, 2018 NLCA 10
Appeal allowed: convictions quashed and new trial ordered
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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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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