Case information
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30975
Her Majesty the Queen v. David Raymond Couture
(British Columbia) (Criminal) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2007-06-20 | Appeal closed | |
| 2007-06-18 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2007-06-18 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2007-06-15 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA031054, dated April 8, 2005, heard on May 15, 2006, is dismissed and the order for a new trial is confirmed. Bastarache, Deschamps, Abella and Rothstein JJ. are dissenting. Dismissed |
|
| 2006-05-31 | Transcript received, (68 pages) | |
| 2006-05-15 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2006-05-15 | Supplemental document, Respondent's factum from Court of appeal (Submitted in Court after hearing on May 16/06) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-05-15 | Appellant's condensed book, Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-05-15 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all parties | |
| 2006-05-15 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2006-05-15, CJ Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro Judgment reserved |
|
| 2006-05-11 | Respondent's book of authorities, Supplemental, Completed on: 2006-05-11 | David Raymond Couture |
| 2006-05-03 | Notice of appearance, Bruce Johnstone will be present at the hearing. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-05-03 | Notice of appearance, Jamie Klukach will be present at the hearing. | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2006-05-01 | Appellant's book of authorities, on reply factum pursuant to rule 29(4), Completed on: 2006-05-01 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-05-01 | Reply factum on appeal, under rule 29(4), Completed on: 2006-05-01 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-04-27 | Notice of appearance, Susan Coristine and M. Kevin Woodall will be present at the hearing. | David Raymond Couture |
| 2006-04-26 |
Order by, Abe, FURTHER TO THE ORDER of Abella J. dated March 30, 2006, granting leave to intervene to the Attorney General of Ontario; IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED THAT the said intervener is granted permission to present oral argument not exceeding fifteen (15) minutes at the hearing of the appeal. Granted |
|
| 2006-04-21 | Intervener's factum, (CD rec'd Apr. 27/06), Completed on: 2006-04-27 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2006-04-18 | Respondent's book of authorities, service rec'd Apr. 21, 2006, Completed on: 2006-04-24 | David Raymond Couture |
| 2006-04-18 | Respondent's factum, Service rec'd Apr. 21, 2006 (Rule 29(3) included), Completed on: 2006-04-24 | David Raymond Couture |
| 2006-04-13 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2006-03-31 | Letter sent to Intervener(s) | |
| 2006-03-30 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, (BY ABELLA J.) | |
| 2006-03-30 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Abe, The motion for leave to intervene of the applicant, the Attorney General of Ontario, is granted and the applicant shall be entitled to serve and file a factum not to exceed 20 pages in length on or before April 21, 2006. The request to present oral argument is deferred to a date following receipt and consideration of the written arguments of the parties and the intervener. The intervener shall not be 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) the intervener shall pay to the appellant and respondent any additional disbursements occasioned to the appellant and respondent by its intervention. Granted |
|
| 2006-03-28 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Abe | |
| 2006-03-27 | Reply to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2006-03-27 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2006-03-21 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (service missing), Completed on: 2006-03-27 | David Raymond Couture |
| 2006-03-13 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Burke-Robertson rec'd by email and cc. to all parties, Completed on: 2006-03-13 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-03-10 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2006-03-10 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2006-05-15 Judgment reserved |
|
| 2006-03-09 | Motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2006-03-09 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2006-02-16 | Appellant's book of authorities, Vol. I and II, Completed on: 2006-02-16 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-02-16 | Appellant's factum, 25 copies rec'd (CD in OCR rec'd Mar. 1/06), Completed on: 2006-03-06 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-01-13 | Appellant's record, (Vol. 1 to 3), Completed on: 2006-01-13 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2005-11-25 | Notice of appeal, Certificate rec'd March 1/06, Completed on: 2005-11-25 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2005-11-22 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2005-10-28 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2005-10-28 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2005-10-27 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA031054, dated April 8, 2005, is granted. Granted |
|
| 2005-08-22 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Bi Cha | |
| 2005-07-07 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2005-07-07 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2005-06-28 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2005-06-28 | David Raymond Couture |
| 2005-06-08 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2005-06-07 | Application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2005-06-07 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Couture, David Raymond | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney General of Ontario | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
600 - 865 Hornby St
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G3
Telephone: (604) 660-1126
FAX: (604) 660-1133
Email: bruce.johnstone@gov.bc.ca
Agent
70 Gloucester Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0A2
Telephone: (613) 566-2058
FAX: (613) 235-4430
Email: rhouston@burkerobertson.com
Party: Couture, David Raymond
Counsel
M. Kevin Woodall
Susan M. Coristine
660 - 220 Cambie Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 2M9
Telephone: (604) 689-3242
FAX: (604) 689-3292
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
Box 466 Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: brian.crane@gowlingwlg.com
Party: Attorney General of Ontario
Counsel
720 Bay St
10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2K1
Telephone: (416) 326-4600
FAX: (416) 326-4656
Email: jamie.klukach@ontario.ca
Agent
70 Gloucester Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0A2
Telephone: (613) 566-2058
FAX: (613) 235-4430
Email: rhouston@burkerobertson.com
Summary
Keywords
None.
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.
Criminal law (Non Charter) - Evidence - Witnesses - Competency - Spouses - Whether the Court of Appeal erred by holding that spousal testimonial incompetence was a factor under the principled exception to the rule against hearsay which precluded admission in evidence of the pre-trial statements of Darlene Couture because she was married to the Respondent at the time she gave the statements to the police.
The Respondent, David Couture, was convicted of two counts of second degree murder of two young women which occurred in 1986. The wife of the Respondent, Darlene Couture, met the accused who was in prison on other charges in 1989. She married the Respondent in 1996. In 1997, she gave two statements to police regarding disclosures made to her by the accused shortly after they met, and before they were married. At the time of the statements, Mrs. Couture was living separate from her husband; however, they since reconciled and remained married at the time of trial. The trial judge admitted the statements; however, this was overturned by the Court of Appeal. The court ordered a new trial.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
CC011149
Respondent found guilty of two counts of second degree murder contrary to s.218(1) of the Criminal Code
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
CA031054
Appeal allowed; 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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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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