Case information
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40569
Trevor Ian James Lindsay v. His Majesty the King
(Alberta) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-23 | Appeal closed | |
| 2024-01-02 | Transcript received, 49 pages | |
| 2023-12-18 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2023-12-18 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2023-12-14 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, Ka Kas Ja Ob Mor, JAMAL J. — We are all of the view that the appeal should be dismissed. We do not accept the appellant’s submission that the trial judge misinterpreted the concession of defence counsel that if an assault occurred, it was an aggravated assault. The appellant did not raise this as a ground of appeal before the Court of Appeal. The appellant now claims that the trial judge interpreted this concession as meaning that he did not need to decide whether the Crown had proved the elements of aggravated assault. We disagree. Reading the judgment as a whole, the trial judge concluded that the appellant committed aggravated assault when he intentionally struck and threw the person in his custody to the ground. As the majority of the Court of Appeal correctly noted, based on the trial judge’s reasons, “the pathway to conviction is clear and based on the correct application of relevant legal principles” (para. 6). A trial judge is presumed to know the law and is entitled to focus on the live issues at trial. In our view, the trial judge’s reasons are sufficient in law (see R. v. G.F., 2021 SCC 20, at para. 74). Nor do we accept the appellant’s argument that the trial judge erred in concluding that s. 25(1) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, did not provide a defence for the appellant’s use of force against the individual. Section 25(1) “essentially provides that a police officer is justified in using force to effect a lawful arrest, provided that he or she acted on reasonable and probable grounds and used only as much force as was necessary in the circumstances” (R. v. Nasogaluak, 2010 SCC 6, [2010] 1 S.C.R. 206, at para. 34). The matters raised by the dissenting judge in the Court of Appeal in essence impugn the trial judge’s findings of fact. In our view, the trial judge was entitled to find on the evidence before him that the appellant had no reasonable grounds to strike the person initially, and that his use of force in striking him three more times in the head and then throwing him to the ground was unnecessary and excessive on a proper standard. The trial judge’s findings of fact were amply supported by the record. We see no basis for this Court to intervene. The appeal is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2023-12-14 | Hearing of the appeal, 2023-12-14, Ka Kas Ja Ob Mor | |
| 2023-12-11 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-12-11 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form) | His Majesty the King |
| 2023-11-20 |
Notice of appearance, Alias Sanders will appear before the Court in person and will present oral argument. |
Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-11-09 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Katherine Elizabeth Fraser will appear before the Court. Katherine Elizabeth Fraser will present oral argument., (Printed version due on 2023-11-17) | His Majesty the King |
| 2023-06-27 | Notice of hearing sent to parties, via email. | |
| 2023-06-27 | Appeal hearing scheduled, 2023-12-14 | |
| 2023-06-21 | Order on motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal, by the Registrar (sent to all parties by email) | |
| 2023-06-21 |
Decision on motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal, Reg, UPON APPLICATION by the appellant for an order extending the time to serve and file his factum, record and book of authorities to April 27, 2023, in the above matter; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion is granted. Granted |
|
| 2023-06-21 | Submission of motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal submitted, Reg | |
| 2023-06-16 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), Form 23A, (Printed version due on 2023-06-23) | His Majesty the King |
| 2023-06-16 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2023-06-21, (Printed version filed on 2023-06-19) | His Majesty the King |
| 2023-06-16 |
Respondent's record, (Book Form), Includes Form 24B , Completed on: 2023-06-21, (Printed version filed on 2023-06-19) |
His Majesty the King |
| 2023-04-28 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23B (Factum) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-04-27 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2023-04-27) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-04-27 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (3 volumes), Completed on: 2023-05-03, (Printed version filed on 2023-04-27) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-04-27 | Motion to extend the time to serve and/or file the notice of appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2023-06-16, (Printed version filed on 2023-04-27) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-04-27 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2023-05-03, (Printed version filed on 2023-04-27) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-01-25 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal, FILE OPENED 2023-01-25 | |
| 2023-01-20 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B, (Printed version due on 2023-01-27) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-01-20 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version due on 2023-01-27) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
| 2023-01-20 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2023-01-20, (Printed version due on 2023-01-27) | Trevor Ian James Lindsay |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lindsay, Trevor Ian James | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| His Majesty the King | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Lindsay, Trevor Ian James
Counsel
Calgary, Alberta
T2H 2H2
Telephone: (403) 294-9495
FAX: (403) 294-9599
Email: sandersa@shaw.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: His Majesty the King
Counsel
Appeals and Specialized Prosecutions Office
9833 - 109 Street N.W., 3rd Floor, Bowker Building
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2E8
Telephone: (780) 422-5402
FAX: (780) 422-1106
Email: Katherine.Fraser@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 — Defences — Use of force by peace officer — Protection of peace officers — Whether the majority of the Court of Appeal of Alberta erred in upholding the trial judge’s decision that s. 25 of the Criminal Code did not protect the appellant from criminal liability — Whether the majority of the Court of the Appeal erred in upholding the trial judge’s decision that the prosecution had proven the elements of aggravated assault beyond a reasonable doubt — Criminal Code, s. 25.<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.
The appellant, Trevor Ian James Lindsay, is a constable with the Calgary Police Service. While processing an arrestee, an altercation occurred between the appellant and the arrestee that left the latter with serious injuries. The appellant was charged with aggravated assault under s. 268 of the Criminal Code. At trial, the appellant’s defence included s. 25 of the Criminal Code, which protects peace officers from liability related to their lawful use of force. The trial judge concluded that s. 25 did not protect the appellant from criminal liability for his actions. A majority of the Court of Appeal agreed. However, Wakeling J.A., in dissent, would have held that the trial judge erred in concluding that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant’s actions constituted an assault, and also that the trial judge erred in concluding that s. 25 did not apply. Wakeling J.A. would have allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.
Lower court rulings
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
170015663Q1, 2019 ABQB 462
Accused convicted.
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary)
2022 ABCA 424, 2101-0292A
Appeal dismissed. Wakeling J.A. dissented and would have allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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Related links
Factums on appeal
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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.
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