Summary

41235

Stéphanie Dorval v. His Majesty the King

(Quebec) (Criminal) (By Leave)

Keywords

Criminal law — Defence — De minimis non curat lex — Whether there is defence based on maxim de minimis non curat lex in Canadian criminal law and, if so, what are criteria governing its application?

Summary

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During the forceful arrest of an individual in a domestic violence context, the applicant police officer, Stéphanie Dorval, suddenly and aggressively tore a cell phone from the hands of the arrested individual’s brother, who was filming the scene. It was not in dispute that Ms. Dorval’s actions amounted to assault. She argued instead that the defence of justification had to be available to her or, in the alternative, that she had to be acquitted pursuant to the maxim de minimis non curat lex.

The Court of Québec convicted Ms. Dorval of the offence of assault with which she was charged. In the trial judge’s view, there were other alternatives that the accused had not considered before using force to grab the cell phone, and in these circumstances, the defence based on the de minimis maxim did not apply. The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the trial judge had not erred in law by not applying the de minimis maxim. She had made no reviewable error in assessing the evidence and the facts.

Lower Court Rulings

March 8, 2022
Court of Quebec

615-01-030805-207
Accused convicted of assault
February 23, 2024
Court of Appeal of Quebec (Québec)

200-10-700017-226, 2024 QCCA 218 (French only)
Motion for leave to appeal on questions of act granted; appeal dismissed