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.
38425
Addison Nickoles Wakefield v. Her Majesty the Queen
(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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-03 | Appeal closed | |
| 2019-05-07 | Transcript received, 26 pages | |
| 2019-04-26 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2019-04-26 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2019-04-25 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, Abe Mo Ka Row Mar, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary), Number 1601-0177-A, 2018 ABCA 360, dated November 1, 2018, was heard on April 25, 2019, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: THE COURT — In order to uphold the conviction for second degree murder, the majority in the Court of Appeal had to be satisfied that the trial judge found that the appellant himself had stabbed the victim. The trial judge expressly refrained from making that finding. The majority considered the evidence and found that “the conclusion that it was the appellant who inflicted the stab wounds is well founded in the evidence” (para. 29). In doing so, the majority erred by making a finding of fact that the trial judge declined to make. In addition, if the trial judge had concluded that it was the appellant who stabbed the victim, it is unclear whether he correctly analyzed the subjective mens rea requirement for second degree murder under s. 229(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46. The trial judge failed to consider the crucial question of what the appellant subjectively knew and intended at the time of the stabbing (in accordance with R. v. Cooper, [1993] 1 S.C.R. 146, at p. 159). By accepting the trial judge’s statement of intent as sufficient to support the conviction for murder (para. 34), the majority further erred. Both the appellant and the respondent advised the Court that they were content with our substituting a verdict of manslaughter instead of ordering a new trial. Accordingly, pursuant to s. 686(1)(b)(i) of the Criminal Code, the appeal is dismissed and a verdict of manslaughter is substituted, and the matter is remitted to the trial judge for sentencing. Dismissed |
|
| 2019-04-25 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), 14 copies (Submitted in Court) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2019-04-25 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), 14 copies (Submitted in Court) | Addison Nickoles Wakefield |
| 2019-04-25 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2019-04-25, Abe Mo Ka Row Mar Judgment rendered |
|
| 2019-04-12 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2019-04-11 | Notice of appearance, Karen B. Molle and Jennifer Ruttan will appear before the court. Ms. Molle will present oral arguments. | Addison Nickoles Wakefield |
| 2019-04-10 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Brian R. Graff will appear before the court and will present oral arguments. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2019-04-08 | Respondent's record, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-04-11 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2019-04-08 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2019-04-08 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2019-04-08 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-04-11 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2019-03-04 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2019-02-26 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2019-04-25 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2019-02-11 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Addison Nickoles Wakefield |
| 2019-02-11 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-02-11 | Addison Nickoles Wakefield |
| 2019-02-11 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-02-11 | Addison Nickoles Wakefield |
| 2018-12-12 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2018-12-03 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal, FILE OPENED ON 2018-12-03 | |
| 2018-11-30 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Addison Nickoles Wakefield |
| 2018-11-30 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2018-11-30 | Addison Nickoles Wakefield |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wakefield, Addison Nickoles | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Wakefield, Addison Nickoles
Counsel
Calgary, Alberta
T2N 2A1
Telephone: (403) 483-4858
FAX: (403) 262-1115
Email: karenmolle@gmail.com
Agent
130 Albert Street
Suite 1103
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5G4
Telephone: (613) 702-5573
FAX: (613) 702-5573
Email: mvincelette@powerlaw.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
3rd Floor, Centrium Place
Suite 300-332 6th Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0B2
Telephone: (403) 297-6005
FAX: (403) 297-3453
Email: brian.graff@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 - Second degree murder - Elements of the offence - Whether the trial judge erred in finding that the Crown had proved the elements of the offence of second degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
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, a drug dealer, was convicted of second degree murder. The trial judge found that he and his co-accused had gone to the victim’s home with the intent to collect a drug debt and that both intended to commit a robbery or an act of intimidation in the course of that venture. The victim was fatally stabbed in the legs, and there was evidence at trial that pointed to the appellant as having inflicted the stab wounds. The appellant appealed his conviction on several grounds. In particular, he argued that the trial judge failed to consider whether the Crown had established the mental element of the offence. A majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. Berger J.A., dissenting, would have allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial. In his view, while it was clear that the appellant meant to cause bodily harm, there was no evidence that he had knowledge of the foreseeable consequences of that harm.
Lower court rulings
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
130130263Q3
Appellant convicted of second degree murder
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary)
2018 ABCA 360, 1601-0177-A
Appeal dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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Downloadable PDFs
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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.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available