Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
40147
His Majesty the King v. S.S.
(Ontario) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-01-26 | Appeal closed | |
| 2023-01-25 | Transcript received, 65 pages | |
| 2023-01-24 | General proceeding, Case Sensitivity Questionnaire | S.S. |
| 2023-01-13 | General proceeding, (Letter Form), Case Sensitivity Questionnaire | His Majesty the King |
| 2023-01-11 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2023-01-11 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2023-01-10 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Ka Côt Row Mar Kas Ob, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C68062, 2022 ONCA 305, dated April 21, 2022, was heard on January 10, 2023, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: THE CHIEF JUSTICE — A majority of this Court would allow the appeal, substantially for the reasons of the dissenting judge, MacPherson J.A. Justice Rowe would dismiss the appeal, substantially for the reasons of the majority of the Court of Appeal. Therefore, the appeal is allowed and the conviction is restored. Allowed |
|
| 2023-01-10 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2023-01-10, CJ Ka Côt Row Mar Kas Ob Judgment rendered |
|
| 2023-01-06 | Certificate (on limitations to public access) | S.S. |
| 2023-01-06 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B, (Printed version due on 2023-01-13) | Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) |
| 2023-01-05 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B, (Printed version due on 2023-01-12) | His Majesty the King |
| 2023-01-05 | Intervener's condensed book, (Book Form), (Printed version due on 2023-01-12) | Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) |
| 2023-01-05 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), PUBLICATION BAN, (Printed version due on 2023-01-12) | S.S. |
| 2023-01-04 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), PUBLICATION BAN, (Printed version filed on 2023-01-06) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-12-08 |
Notice of appearance, Maija Martin and Nicola Langille will appear before the Court and Maija Martin will present oral argument. |
Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) |
| 2022-12-07 |
Notice of appearance, Deborah R. Hatch and William van Engen will appear before the Court and Mr. van Engen will present oral argument. |
Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2022-12-07 |
Notice of appearance, Jeff Marshman and Ingrid Grant will appear before the Court and Mr. Marshman will present oral argument. |
S.S. |
| 2022-12-07 |
Notice of appearance, Michael S. Dunn will be appearing via Zoom before the Court and will present oral argument. |
His Majesty the King |
| 2022-11-01 | Notice of hearing sent to parties, (by email) | |
| 2022-11-01 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2023-01-10 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2022-10-17 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2022-10-13 | Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-10-13, (Printed version filed on 2022-10-13) | Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) |
| 2022-10-13 | Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-10-13, (Printed version filed on 2022-10-13) | Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) |
| 2022-10-13 | Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-11-03, (Printed version filed on 2022-10-13) | Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2022-09-02 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, by Justice Kasirer (sent to parties by email) | |
| 2022-09-02 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Kas, UPON APPLICATION by the Criminal Lawyers’ Association (Ontario) and the Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association for leave to intervene in the above appeal; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motions for leave to intervene are granted and the said two (2) interveners shall be entitled to each serve and file a factum not to exceed ten (10) pages in length on or before October 14, 2022. The said interveners are granted permission to each present oral arguments not exceeding five (5) minutes at the hearing of the appeal. The interveners are not entitled to raise new issues or to adduce further evidence or otherwise to supplement the record of the parties. Pursuant to Rule 59(1)(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, the interveners shall pay to the appellant and the respondent any additional disbursements resulting from their interventions. Granted |
|
| 2022-09-02 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Kas | |
| 2022-08-30 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Included in the certificate (on limitations to public access)), 23B | S.S. |
| 2022-08-30 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version due on 2022-09-07) | S.S. |
| 2022-08-30 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-09-02, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-31) | S.S. |
| 2022-08-24 | Reply to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2022-08-25, (Printed version due on 2022-08-31) | Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2022-08-22 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Response to the Crimimal Trial Lawyers' Association, Completed on: 2022-08-25, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-25) | S.S. |
| 2022-08-22 | Reply to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2022-08-25, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-25) | Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) |
| 2022-08-19 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2022-08-19, (Printed version due on 2022-08-26) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-08-15 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-19) | Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2022-08-15 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-19) | Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2022-08-15 | Notice of name, (Included in the motion for leave to intervene), (Printed version due on 2022-08-22) | Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2022-08-15 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Missing: Filing Fee (rec' 08/17/22), Completed on: 2022-08-15, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-19) | Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2022-08-10 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Response to the Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario), Completed on: 2022-08-10, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-11) | S.S. |
| 2022-08-10 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2022-08-11) | Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) |
| 2022-08-10 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Missing: Filing Fee (rec' 08/25/22), Completed on: 2022-08-25, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-11) | Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) |
| 2022-08-02 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), 24A, (Printed version due on 2022-08-09) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-07-19 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B - Appellant's Factum, Record require: service (rec'd 2022-07-29), (Printed version due on 2022-07-26) |
His Majesty the King |
| 2022-07-19 |
Appellant's record, (Book Form), (2 volumes), require: -service (rec'd 2022-07-29) -24A (rec'd 2022-08-02) ELECTRONIC COPIES: Volume 01 of the Record : includes Part I, Part IV Volume 02 of the Record : includes Part V PAPER COPIES: Volume 1.0 of the Record : includes Part I, Part IV Volume 2.1 of the Record : includes Part V Volume 2.2 of the Record : includes remainder of Part V, Completed on: 2022-08-15, (Printed version filed on 2022-07-21) |
His Majesty the King |
| 2022-07-19 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), require: service (rec'd 2022-07-29), Completed on: 2022-07-29, (Printed version filed on 2022-07-21) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-05-26 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal, FILE OPENED 2022-05-26 | |
| 2022-05-24 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B - Notice of Appeal, (Printed version filed on 2022-06-01) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-05-24 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A received: additional 23A filed with Appellant's factum, record (rec'd 2022-07-19), (Printed version filed on 2022-06-01) |
His Majesty the King |
| 2022-05-24 | Notice of appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-05-24, (Printed version filed on 2022-06-01) | His Majesty the King |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| His Majesty the King | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| S.S. | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) | Intervener | Active |
| Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: His Majesty the King
Counsel
Crown Law Office - Criminal Division
720 Bay Street, 10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2S9
Telephone: (416) 326-4600
FAX: (416) 326-4656
Email: michael.dunn@ontario.ca
Party: S.S.
Counsel
55 University Avenue, Suite 1100
P.O. Box 64
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 2H7
Telephone: (416) 977-5334
FAX: (416) 934-9599
Email: jeff@grantmarshman.com
Agent
340 Gilmour Street
Suite 100
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario)
Counsel
Nicola Langille
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 2L4
Telephone: (416) 361-9609
FAX: (416) 361-9443
Email: maija@martincriminaldefence.ca
Agent
340 Gilmour Street
Suite 100
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association
Counsel
William J. van Engen
1740, 10123 - 99 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 3H1
Telephone: (780) 474-2888
FAX: (780) 665-1059
Email: dhatch@hatch.law
Summary
Keywords
Criminal law – Evidence – Admissibility – Hearsay – Videotaped out-of-court statement given by complainant – Whether the majority of the Court of Appeal erred in law in finding that the trial judge erred in admitting the complainant’s out-of-court statement by (i) finding that the statement met the requirements of threshold reliability; and (ii) finding that the complainant had no motive to fabricate the allegations.<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)
The respondent was convicted of sexual assault and sexual interference, two offences perpetrated on the complainant when she was between six and eight years old. The convictions were based on the complainant’s unsworn, videotaped police statement, which the trial judge admitted into evidence by application of the principled exception to the hearsay rule, based on the requirements of necessity and threshold reliability. A majority of the Court of Appeal allowed the respondent’s appeal, set aside the conviction and entered an acquittal, concluding that the trial judge erred in law by admitting the out-of-court statement into evidence. MacPherson J.A., dissenting, would have dismissed the appeal from conviction.
Lower court rulings
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
153/16, 2017 ONSC 5459
See File
Court of Appeal for Ontario
2022 ONCA 305, C68062
See File
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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