Case information
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39114
Her Majesty the Queen v. W.M.
(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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-03-05 | Appeal closed | |
| 2021-01-15 | General proceeding, (Letter Form), Case Sensitivity Questionnaire | W.M. |
| 2020-12-30 | Transcript received, 31 pages | |
| 2020-12-11 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2020-12-11 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2020-12-10 | General proceeding, (Letter Form), Case Sensitivity Questionnaire | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-12-10 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Mo Côt Row, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C65108, 2020 ONCA 236, dated March 24, 2020, was heard on December 10, 2020, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: THE CHIEF JUSTICE — We are all of the view that the appeal must be allowed for the reasons of Justice Miller. The trial judge’s mistake regarding the specific year of the sex offender treatment did not have any material impact on his overall assessment of the similar fact evidence or the accused’s credibility when one considers the trial judge’s reasons as a whole. In the result, no miscarriage of justice occurred. The appeal is allowed and the conviction is restored. Allowed |
|
| 2020-12-10 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2020-12-10, CJ Abe Mo Côt Row Judgment rendered |
|
| 2020-12-08 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B-Condensed Book | W.M. |
| 2020-12-08 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), (Electronic version filed on 2020-12-08) | W.M. |
| 2020-11-17 |
Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Caitlin Sharawy will appear before the court, and will present oral arguments. |
Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-11-16 |
Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), W. John McCulligh will appear before the court, and will present oral arguments. |
W.M. |
| 2020-09-02 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2020-08-25 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2020-12-10, In order for the appeal to proceed on December 10, 2020, the filing schedule will be as follows: a) The respondent’s record, factum and book of authorities, if any, shall be served and filed on or before August 12, 2020. b) Any person wishing to intervene in this appeal under Rule 55 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada shall serve and file a motion for leave to intervene on or before July 22, 2020. c) The appellant and respondent shall serve and file their response(s), if any, to the motions for leave to intervene on or before August 3, 2020. d) Replies to any responses to the motions for leave to intervene shall be served and filed on or before August 10, 2020. Judgment rendered |
|
| 2020-08-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B | W.M. |
| 2020-08-12 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A required: amended 23A, proof of service for amended 23A (both rec'd 2020/08/13) |
W.M. |
| 2020-08-12 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), required: amended 23A, proof of service for amended 23A (both rec'd 2020/08/13), Completed on: 2020-08-13, (Printed version filed on 2020-10-08) | W.M. |
| 2020-07-14 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right), (by email to all parties on July 15, 2020) | |
| 2020-06-17 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), 24A | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-06-17 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B required: amended 23B & proof of service (all rec'd 2020/06/17) |
Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-06-17 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A required: amended 23A & proof of service (all rec'd 2020/06/17) |
Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-06-17 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (2 volumes), Completed on: 2020-06-17, (Printed version filed on 2020-10-13) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-06-17 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), required: amended factum & proof of service; amended 23A-B & proof of service (all rec'd 2020/06/17), Completed on: 2020-06-17, (Printed version filed on 2020-10-13) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-04-24 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal, FILE OPENED 2020/04/24 | |
| 2020-04-22 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-04-22 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-04-22 | Notice of appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-04-22 | Her Majesty the Queen |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| W.M. | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
720 Bay St. 10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2S9
Telephone: (416) 212-7864
FAX: (416) 326-4656
Email: caitlin.sharawy@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
Party: W.M.
Counsel
Brampton, Ontario
L6W 4P6
Telephone: (905) 459-1545
FAX: (905) 459-2826
Email: wjmlaw202@mccullighlawyer.ca
Agent
900 - 275 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5H9
Telephone: (613) 691-1224
FAX: (613) 691-1338
Email: mdillon@supremelawgroup.ca
Summary
Keywords
Criminal law - Evidence - Misapprehension of evidence - Miscarriage of justice - Whether majority of Court of Appeal erred in law in finding that trial judge’s misapprehension of evidence was material and resulted in miscarriage of justice.
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 IN CASE) (COURT FILE CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION BY THE PUBLIC)
At trial before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the respondent, W.M., was convicted of sexual interference and sexual assault. A majority of the Court of Appeal allowed the respondent’s appeal from his convictions and ordered a new trial. In the majority’s view, the trial judge misapprehended the respondent’s evidence concerning his prior sexual offender treatment, namely the year that it occurred, and this error had a material impact on the convictions. In dissent, Miller J.A. would have dismissed the appeal as he did not believe that the trial judge’s misapprehension of evidence played an essential role in the reasoning process resulting in convictions.
Lower court rulings
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Convictions for sexual interference and sexual assault
Court of Appeal for Ontario
2020 ONCA 236 ;, C65108 ;
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.
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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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
Not available