Case information
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40039
D.R. v. His Majesty the King
(Newfoundland & Labrador) (Criminal) (As of Right)
(Publication ban in case) (Publication ban on party)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-01-13 | Appeal closed | |
| 2022-12-07 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2022-12-07 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2022-12-05 | Transcript received, 41 pages | |
| 2022-12-01 | General proceeding, (Letter Form), Case Sensitivity, (Printed version filed on 2022-12-01) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-12-01 | General proceeding, (Letter Form), Case Sensitivity, (Printed version filed on 2022-12-01) | D.R. |
| 2022-12-01 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, Row Mar Kas Ja Ob, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador, Number 202001H0011, 2022 NLCA 2, dated January 7, 2022, was heard on December 1, 2022, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: ROWE J. — This is an appeal as of right from a decision of the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal setting aside acquittals and ordering a new trial in a case of sexual assault, among other offences. The accused is the grandfather of the complainant, who was between 7 and 10 at the time of the alleged offences. There was evidence that the complainant was happy to see the accused and exhibited no avoidant behaviour toward him. From this, the trial judge inferred that the complainant had a “strong and normal” relationship with the accused, which caused the trial judge to doubt the credibility of her testimony regarding the alleged offences. Writing for the majority, Hoegg J.A. observed that the trial judge “rested his reasonable doubt on his conclusion . . . that their strong and normal relationship meant that her grandfather could not have been sexually abusing her” (para. 34 (CanLII)). We agree with the majority of the Court of Appeal that this inference by the trial judge was rooted in stereotypical reasoning, rather than the entirety of the evidence, and that this constituted an error of law. While the trial judge set out other lines of reasoning relating to the complainant’s credibility, his reliance on stereotypical inferences undermines his assessment of her credibility and, thus, his verdict. The majority of the Court of Appeal decided, correctly in the circumstances, that the trial judge’s stereotypical reasoning had a material effect on the acquittal of the accused (see para. 61 and the heading for that paragraph). Accordingly, we would dismiss the appeal and order a new trial. Dismissed |
|
| 2022-12-01 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2022-12-01, Row Mar Kas Ja Ob Judgment rendered |
|
| 2022-11-29 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), (Printed version filed on 2022-11-29) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-11-25 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), (Electronic version filed on 2022-11-25) | D.R. |
| 2022-11-09 |
Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Jason A. Edwards will appear before the Court and will present oral argument. , (Printed version due on 2022-11-17) |
D.R. |
| 2022-11-09 |
Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Shawn I. Patten will appear before the Court and will present oral argument. , (Printed version due on 2022-11-17) |
His Majesty the King |
| 2022-11-08 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, all parties; Letter of direction relating to upcoming hearing | |
| 2022-06-28 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2022-06-28 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2022-12-01 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2022-06-14 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted), (sent to all parties by email) | |
| 2022-05-17 | Notice of change of counsel, (Letter Form), Counsel Jason Edwards has assumed carriage of the file., (Printed version due on 2022-05-25) | D.R. |
| 2022-05-04 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), (Included in the certificate (on limitations to public access)), 23B, (Printed version due on 2022-05-11) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-05-04 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version due on 2022-05-11) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-05-04 | Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-05-17, (Printed version filed on 2022-05-04) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-05-04 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), 24B, (Printed version due on 2022-05-11) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-05-04 | Respondent's record, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-05-17, (Printed version filed on 2022-05-04) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-05-04 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-05-17, (Printed version filed on 2022-05-04) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-03-29 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B, (Printed version due on 2022-04-05) | D.R. |
| 2022-03-11 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A require: amended 23A (rec'd 2022-06-07), (Printed version due on 2022-03-18) |
D.R. |
| 2022-03-11 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), (Printed version due on 2022-03-18) | D.R. |
| 2022-03-11 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (2 volumes), Missing: Form 23B (rec' 03/29/22), Completed on: 2022-03-30, (Printed version due on 2022-03-18) | D.R. |
| 2022-03-11 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Book Form), Missing: Form 23B (rec' 03/29/22), Completed on: 2022-03-30, (Printed version due on 2022-03-18) | D.R. |
| 2022-03-11 |
Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Missing: PART VI of the Factum - Case Sensitivity (rec' 03/31/22) Form 23B (rec' 03/29/22), Completed on: 2022-04-04, (Printed version filed on 2022-04-04) |
D.R. |
| 2022-02-02 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal, FILE OPENED 2022-02-02 | |
| 2022-01-26 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2022-01-28) | D.R. |
| 2022-01-26 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2022-01-28) | D.R. |
| 2022-01-26 |
Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Required: -Amended Notice of Appeal (rec'd electronic copy 2022-01-31 ; rec'd paper copy 2022-02-11), Completed on: 2022-05-17, (Electronic version filed on 2022-01-28) |
D.R. |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| D.R. | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| His Majesty the King | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: D.R.
Counsel
Suite 200
251 Empire Avenue
St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
A1C 3H9
Telephone: (709) 552-7691
FAX: (709) 753-6226
Email: jasonedwards@legalaid.nl.ca
Party: His Majesty the King
Counsel
4th Floor, Atlantic Place
215 Water Street
St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador
A1B 4J6
Telephone: (709) 729-4299
FAX: (709) 729-1135
Email: shawnpatten@gov.nl.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 — Evidence — Credibility — Stereotypical reasoning — Whether the majority of the Court of Appeal erred in law in ruling that the trial judge relied upon impermissible stereotypes of victims of sexual abuse when he assessed the complainant’s credibility.<br><br>
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.
(PUBLICATION BAN)
At trial, the appellant was acquitted of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault respecting the complainant, a person under the age of 16 years. A majority of the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador allowed the Crown’s appeal and ordered a new trial. It held that the trial judge engaged in impermissible stereotypical reasoning when assessing the complainant’s credibility by relying on the stereotypes that a victim could not be happy to see her abuser regardless of her age and circumstances, and that a victim will exhibit avoidant behaviour around her abuser if she were truly being abused. In dissent, White J.A. would have dismissed the appeal. In his view, the trial judge did not rely on any myth or stereotype about sexual assault when assessing the complainant’s credibility.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, General Division
201704G0254, 2020 NLSC 1
D.R. acquitted of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault.
Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador
202001H0011, 2022 NLCA 2
Appeal allowed 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.
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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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