Case information
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38036
Abdullah Youssef v. Her Majesty the Queen
(Ontario) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-11-28 | Appeal closed | |
| 2018-11-28 | Transcript received, 37 pages | |
| 2018-11-16 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2018-11-16 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2018-11-09 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, Mo Côt Br Row Mar, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C59334, 2018 ONCA 16, dated January 12, 2018, was heard on November 9, 2018 and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: CÔTÉ J. — In our view, having regard to the principles set out by this Court in R. v. Villaroman, 2016 SCC 33, [2016] 1 S.C.R. 1000, at para. 55, it was not unreasonable for the trial judge to conclude that the evidence as a whole excluded all reasonable alternatives to guilt, especially given the presence of Mr. Youssef’s DNA on two different pieces of evidence, one of which was connected to the scene of the bank robbery, and the other to the getaway car. When the trial judge’s reasons are read as a whole, and in the context of the evidence and the arguments at trial, we are not persuaded that the trial judge ignored other potential explanations. We would therefore dismiss the appeal. Dismissed |
|
| 2018-11-09 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2018-11-09, Mo Côt Br Row Mar Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-11-09 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), 14 copies submitted in courtroom. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-11-09 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), 14 copies submitted in Courtroom. | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-10-25 | Notice of appearance, Richard Litkowski and Jessica Zita will be appearing. Mr. Litkowski will present oral arguments. | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-10-19 | Notice of appearance, Kevin Rawluk will be appearing and will present oral arguments. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-08-28 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2018-08-20 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2018-11-09 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-07-19 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2018-07-17 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-07-17 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-06-15 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), Suplemental Record | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-06-05 | Supplemental document, (Book Form), Suplemental Record - Missing in Certificate 24A (rc'd on 2018-06-15), Completed on: 2018-06-19 | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-05-23 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (2 volumes), CD Exhibit 1 also filed separately., Completed on: 2018-05-23 | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-05-23 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-05-23 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-05-23 | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-04-06 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2018-04-05 | Order on motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal, (BY JUSTICE GASCON) | |
| 2018-04-05 |
Decision on motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal, Ga, UPON APPLICATION by the appellant for an order extending the time to serve and file his notice of appeal; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; AND NOTING THAT the respondent consents to the motion; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion is granted. Granted |
|
| 2018-04-05 | Submission of motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal submitted, Ga | |
| 2018-04-05 | Response to motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2018-04-05 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-04-05 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-04-05 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-04-03 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal, (FILE OPENED 2018-04-03) | |
| 2018-03-28 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-03-28 | Motion to extend the time to serve and/or file the notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2018-04-03 | Abdullah Youssef |
| 2018-03-28 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2018-03-28 | Abdullah Youssef |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Youssef, Abdullah | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Youssef, Abdullah
Counsel
Jessica Zita
238 King Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 1K1
Telephone: (416) 975-1700
FAX: (416) 925-8882
Email: rlitkowski@hicksadams.ca
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
720 Bay Street, 10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2S9
Telephone: (416) 326-4600
FAX: (416) 326-4656
Email: kevin.rawluk@ontario.ca
Agent
World Exchange Plaza
100 Queen Street, suite 1300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J9
Telephone: (613) 787-3562
FAX: (613) 230-8842
Email: neffendi@blg.com
Summary
Keywords
Criminal law - Evidence - Accused charged with robbery - Crown’s case based on circumstantial evidence - Whether trial judge erred in concluding that evidence met test required when Crown’s case is based on circumstantial evidence, because evidence failed to establish temporal connection between accused and crime.
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 charged with robbery and with other offences arising out of the robbery, after a young man robbed a branch of the Bank of Montreal in London, Ontario. The main issue at trial was the identity of the robber. The evidence against the appellant was circumstantial and consisted of his DNA found on a pocket knife left in an area of the bank accessed only by the bank employees and the robber, and of his DNA on a t-shirt found in the getaway car. The trial judge found the appellant guilty. He appealed his convictions, arguing that the verdicts were unreasonable because the trial judge’s finding that he was the robber was not the only rational inference on the evidence.
The majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the circumstantial evidence excluded any reasonable alternative to the appellant’s guilt. Feldman J.A., dissenting, would have allowed the appeal and entered acquittals. She was of the view that the verdicts were unreasonable because the evidence did not establish a temporal connection between the appellant and the crime.
Lower court rulings
Ontario Court of Justice
Appellant convicted of robbery
Court of Appeal for Ontario
C59334, 2018 ONCA 16
Appeal dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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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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