Skip to main content

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.


31970

David Mostyn Pritchard v. Her Majesty The Queen

(British Columbia) (Criminal) (By Leave)

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)
2008-11-06 Appeal closed
2008-10-31 Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties
2008-10-31 Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties
2008-10-30 Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Bi De F Abe Cha Ro, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA030487, 2007 BCCA 82, dated February 8, 2007, heard on April 18, 2008, is dismissed.
Dismissed
2008-05-06 Transcript received, (55 pages)
2008-04-18 Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow
2008-04-18 Respondent's condensed book, submitted in court (14 copies) Her Majesty The Queen
2008-04-18 Appellant's condensed book, submitted in court (14 copies) David Mostyn Pritchard
2008-04-18 Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, from all parties
2008-04-18 Hearing of the appeal, 2008-04-18, CJ Bi De F Abe Cha Ro
Judgment reserved
2008-04-10 Order on motion to extend time
2008-04-10 Decision on motion to extend time, to serve and file the respondent's factum and book of authorities to Mar 14/08 and to present oral argument at the hearing of the appeal, Cha
Granted
2008-04-10 Submission of motion to extend time, Cha
2008-04-02 Notice of appearance, Rod H. G. Holloway & Richard C. Gibbs, Q.C. will be present at the hearing David Mostyn Pritchard
2008-04-02 Notice of appearance, Kathleen M. Kerr & Trevor Shaw will be present at the hearing Her Majesty The Queen
2008-03-25 Response to motion to extend time, (Letter Form), (included in the motion), Completed on: 2008-03-25 David Mostyn Pritchard
2008-03-25 Motion to extend time, to file factum, BofA to Mar. 14/08 and permission for oral argument (consent included), Completed on: 2008-03-25 Her Majesty The Queen
2008-03-14 Respondent's book of authorities, (extension of time filed Mar. 25/08), Completed on: 2008-03-28 Her Majesty The Queen
2008-03-14 Respondent's factum, (extension of time filed Mar. 25/08), Completed on: 2008-03-28 Her Majesty The Queen
2008-03-07 Appeal perfected for hearing
2008-02-28 Notice of hearing sent to parties
2008-02-28 Appeal hearing scheduled, 2008-04-18
Judgment reserved
2008-01-11 Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2008-01-11 David Mostyn Pritchard
2008-01-11 Appellant's factum, (CD rec'd Jan. 14/08), Completed on: 2008-01-14 David Mostyn Pritchard
2008-01-10 Appellant's record, (Vol. 1 to 54 - 12 copies of Index - Service to follow), Completed on: 2008-02-07 David Mostyn Pritchard
2007-11-21 Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted)
2007-11-19 Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2007-11-19 David Mostyn Pritchard
2007-10-26 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2007-10-26 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2007-10-25 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 CA030487, 2007 BCCA 82, dated February 8, 2007, is granted.
Granted, no order as to costs
2007-07-16 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Cha Ro
2007-07-05 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2007-07-05 David Mostyn Pritchard
2007-06-26 Order on motion to extend time
2007-06-26 Decision on motion to extend time, to serve and file the respondent's response to June 26/07, DeRg
Granted
2007-06-26 Submission of motion to extend time, DeRg
2007-06-26 Response to motion to extend time, (Letter Form), from R. Holloway dated June 20, 2007 (included with motion), Completed on: 2007-06-26 David Mostyn Pritchard
2007-06-26 Motion to extend time, to file the response to June 26, 2007, Completed on: 2007-06-26 Her Majesty The Queen
2007-06-26 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2007-06-26 Her Majesty The Queen
2007-05-17 Correspondence received from, Burke-Robertson dated May 17/07 re: response will be filed late (by June 26/07) with motion to extend time (by e-mail) Her Majesty The Queen
2007-04-11 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal
2007-04-10 Application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2007-04-10 David Mostyn Pritchard

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
Pritchard, David Mostyn Appellant Active

v.

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

Counsel

Party: Pritchard, David Mostyn

Counsel
Names
Rod Holloway
Richard C. Gibbs, Q.C.
Contact information
Legal Services Society of British Columbia
400-510 Burrard Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 3A8
Telephone: (604) 601-6078
FAX: (604) 682-0956
Email: rod.holloway@legalaid.bc.ca
Agent
Name
Brian A. Crane, Q.C.
Contact information
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
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: Her Majesty The Queen

Counsel
Names
Kathleen M. Ker
Trevor Shaw
Contact information
Attorney General of British Columbia
6th Floor, 865 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G3
Telephone: (604) 660-1126
FAX: (604) 660-1133
Email: kate.ker@gems5.gov.bc.ca
Agent
Name
Robert E. Houston, Q.C.
Contact information
Burke-Robertson
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 - Offences - Elements of offence - Classification of death as first degree murder irrespective of planning and deliberation if death caused while committing robbery - Meaning of forcible confinement in s. 231(5)(e) of the Criminal Code - Whether trial judge instructed the jury correctly on forcible confinement for the purposes of s. 231(5)(e) of the Criminal Code - Whether confinement alleged to have occurred in course of a robbery constitutes forcible confinement for the purpose of classifying a death as first degree murder under s. 231(5)(e).

The Appellant was tried before a jury for the murder of Pirkko Skolos. The Crown argued that the Appellant killed Skolos while robbing a large quantity of marijuana. The Crown sought a conviction for first degree murder. The trial judge held that there was not enough evidence of planning and deliberation to direct a verdict on first degree murder but a jury might find that Skolos’ death was first degree murder under s. 231(5)(e) because it was caused by the Appellant while he was committing forcible confinement. The Appellant was convicted of first degree murder. On appeal, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

Lower court rulings

April 1, 1999
Supreme Court of British Columbia

C9998-2

see file / voir dossier

February 8, 2007
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)

2007-BCCA-82,CA030487

see file / voir dossier

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