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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.


31020

Rita Graveline v. Her Majesty the Queen

(Quebec) (Criminal) (As of Right)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2006-05-15 Appeal closed
2006-04-28 Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties
2006-04-28 Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties
2006-04-27 Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Ba Bi LeB F Abe Cha, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montreal), Number 500-10-002095-014, dated June 1, 2005, heard on March 14, 2006, is allowed and the verdict of acquittal is restored.
Allowed
2006-03-24 Transcript received, (35 pages)
2006-03-14 Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow
2006-03-14 Appellant's condensed book, Submitted in Court (14 copies) Rita Graveline
2006-03-14 Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all parties
2006-03-14 Hearing of the appeal, 2006-03-14, CJ Ba Bi LeB F Abe Cha
Judgment reserved
2006-03-01 Notice of appearance, Isabelle Doray will be appearing. Rita Graveline
2006-02-24 Notice of appearance, Denis Pilon, Martin Côté and Jean-Pierre Proulx will be appearing. Her Majesty the Queen
2006-01-26 Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2006-01-26 Her Majesty the Queen
2006-01-23 Respondent's factum, (CD-Rom rec'd Jan. 25/06), Completed on: 2006-01-31 Her Majesty the Queen
2006-01-23 Appeal perfected for hearing
2005-12-09 Notice of hearing sent to parties
2005-12-08 Appeal hearing scheduled, 2006-03-14, previously Jan. 13, 11 and Mar. 21, 2006
Judgment reserved
2005-11-28 Appellant's book of authorities, (Service to follow - Rec'd Nov. 29/05 - Orig. serv. rec'd Dec. 05/05)., Completed on: 2005-11-29 Rita Graveline
2005-11-28 Appellant's record, (Vol. 1 to 10 - Service to follow - Rec'd Nov. 29/05 - Orig. serv. rec'd Dec.05/05)., Completed on: 2005-11-29 Rita Graveline
2005-11-28 Appellant's factum, (Service Rec'd Nov. 29/05 - Revised CD rec'd Dec. 8/05 - Orig. serv. rec'd Dec. 05/05)., Completed on: 2005-11-29 Rita Graveline
2005-10-07 Decision on motion to extend time, to serve and file the appellant's record, factum and book of authorities to Nov. 30/05, Reg
Granted
2005-10-07 Submission of motion to extend time, Reg
2005-10-05 Response to motion to extend time, (Letter Form), from Jean Campeau, Completed on: 2005-10-05 Her Majesty the Queen
2005-09-30 Motion to extend time, to serve and file the record, factum and book of authorities to Nov. 30/05, Completed on: 2005-09-30 Rita Graveline
2005-08-30 Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right)
2005-07-27 Notice of appeal, 3 copies, Completed on: 2005-07-27 Rita Graveline

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

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
Graveline, Rita Appellant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Her Majesty the Queen Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: Graveline, Rita

Counsel
Name
Isabelle Doray
Contact information
Soulière Lapointe Doray Michaud Lamoureux
15e étage
507 place d'Armes
Montréal, Quebec
H2Y 2W8
Telephone: (514) 288-6070
FAX: (514) 845-5546
Email: idoray@aadm.ca
Agent
Name
Richard Gaudreau
Contact information
Bergeron, Gaudreau, Laporte
167, rue Notre Dame de l'Île
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 3T3
Telephone: (819) 770-7928
FAX: (819) 770-1424
Email: bergeron.gaudreau@qc.aira.com

Party: Her Majesty the Queen

Counsel
Names
Denis Pilon
Martin Côté
Jean-Pierre Proulx
Contact information
Procureur général du Québec
17, rue Laurier, bureau 1.230
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 4C1
Telephone: (819) 776-8111
FAX: (819) 772-3986
Email: dpilon@justice.gouv.qc.ca
Agent
Name
Sylvie Roussel
Contact information
Noël et Associés, s.e.n.c.r.l.
111, rue Champlain
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 3R1
Telephone: (819) 771-7393
FAX: (819) 771-5397
Email: s.roussel@noelassocies.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 - Defence - Self-defence - Air of reality of self-defence - Whether trial judge erred in charge to jury, particularly as regards defence of self-defence.

On August 10, 1999, Rita Graveline killed her spouse while he slept. The incident followed an argument during which Ms. Graveline was physically abused. Ms. Graveline was charged with second degree murder. According to witnesses, she had often been verbally and physically abused by her spouse. The trial judge’s charge related to the defence of non-mental disorder automatism. In light of the expert evidence concerning the battered woman syndrome, the judge also suggested self-defence as a defence. The jury acquitted Ms. Graveline. The Crown appealed the acquittal on the ground that the judge had erred in suggesting self-defence. The Court of Appeal set aside the verdict and ordered a new trial, Rousseau-Houle J.A. dissenting.

Lower court rulings

March 3, 2001
Superior Court of Quebec

550-01-002547-992

Appelante déclarée non-coupable de meurtre au deuxième degré et d'homicide involontaire

June 1, 2005
Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal)

500-10-002095-014

Appel accueilli

Filed documents

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 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 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

Not available

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

The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books 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 condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

Webcasts

Not available.

Date modified: 2025-05-13