Case information
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32130
Dieter Helmut Wittwer v. Her Majesty the Queen
(British Columbia) (Criminal) (By Leave)
(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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-06-09 | Appeal closed | |
| 2008-06-06 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2008-06-06 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2008-06-05 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Bi LeB De F Abe Cha, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number C A034424, 2007 BCCA 275, dated May 10, 2007, heard on April 15, 2008, is allowed. The appellant’s convictions are set aside and a new trial is ordered. Allowed |
|
| 2008-05-15 | Transcript received, (59 pages) | |
| 2008-04-15 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2008-04-15 | Appellant's condensed book, submitted in court (14 copies) | Dieter Helmut Wittwer |
| 2008-04-15 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all parties | |
| 2008-04-15 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2008-04-15, CJ Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Judgment rendered |
|
| 2008-04-07 | Notice of appearance, Susan J. Brown will be present at the hearing | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-04-04 | Notice of appearance, Gillian Roberts and David Friesen will be present at the hearing. | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2008-04-02 | Notice of appearance, Gil D. McKinnon, Q.C. will be present at the hearing | Dieter Helmut Wittwer |
| 2008-03-20 |
Order by, De, FURTHER TO THE ORDER dated February 21, 2008, 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 |
|
| 2008-03-19 | Intervener's book of authorities, Completed on: 2008-03-19 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2008-03-19 | Intervener's factum, Completed on: 2008-03-27 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2008-03-13 | Correspondence received from, Karen Collins dated March 13, 2008 (e-mail). Re: Change of sollicitor | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2008-03-12 | Order on motion to extend time | |
| 2008-03-12 |
Decision on motion to extend time, to serve and file the respondent's factum and book of authorities to Mar 6/08 and to present oral argument at the hearing of the appeal, De Granted |
|
| 2008-03-11 | Submission of motion to extend time, De | |
| 2008-03-07 | Response to motion to extend time, (Letter Form), (included in motion), Completed on: 2008-03-07 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-03-07 | Motion to extend time, (consent included), Completed on: 2008-03-07 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-03-06 | Respondent's book of authorities, (ext. of time filed), Completed on: 2008-03-06 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-03-06 | Respondent's factum, (ext. of time filed), Completed on: 2008-03-06 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-02-28 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2008-02-28 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2008-04-15 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2008-02-22 | Letter sent to Intervener(s) | |
| 2008-02-21 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, (BY DESCHAMPS J.) | |
| 2008-02-21 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, De | |
| 2008-02-21 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, De, The motion for leave to intervene of the Attorney General of Ontario is granted and the said intervener shall be entitled to serve and file a factum not to exceed 20 pages in length on or before March 19, 2008. 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 |
|
| 2008-02-13 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2008-01-31 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (of the AGON - rec'd and served by email), Completed on: 2008-01-31 | Dieter Helmut Wittwer |
| 2008-01-23 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (of the AGON - rec'd and served by email), Completed on: 2008-01-23 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-01-22 | Motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2008-01-22 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2007-12-19 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2007-12-19 | Dieter Helmut Wittwer |
| 2007-12-19 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2007-12-19 | Dieter Helmut Wittwer |
| 2007-12-07 | Appellant's record, (5 volumes), Completed on: 2007-12-07 | Dieter Helmut Wittwer |
| 2007-11-21 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2007-11-08 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2007-11-08 | Dieter Helmut Wittwer |
| 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 CA034424, 2007 BCCA 275, dated May 10, 2007, is granted. Granted |
|
| 2007-09-24 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ F Ro | |
| 2007-08-28 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2007-08-28 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2007-08-01 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2007-07-30 | Application for leave to appeal, Volume 1 and 2, Completed on: 2007-07-31 | Dieter Helmut Wittwer |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wittwer, Dieter Helmut | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney General of Ontario | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: Wittwer, Dieter Helmut
Counsel
Vancouver, British Columbia
V7Y 1C6
Telephone: (604) 601-5616
FAX: (604) 601-5617
Email: gdm2004@shaw.ca
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: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Criminal Appeals
6th Floor, 865 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G3
Telephone: (604) 660-1126
FAX: (604) 660-1133
Email: susan.j.brown@gov.bc.ca
Agent
70 Gloucester Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0A2
Telephone: (613) 566-2058
FAX: (613) 235-4430
Email: rhouston@burkerobertson.com
Party: Attorney General of Ontario
Counsel
Gillian Roberts
David Friesen
720 Bay St
10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2K1
Telephone: (416) 326-4658
FAX: (416) 326-4656
Email: michal.fairburn@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.
Charter of Rights - Constitutional law - Right to counsel - Criminal law - Evidence - Admissibility - Whether police are required to inform an accused at the commencement of an interrogation that prior admissions might be inadmissible in evidence against him - Governing principles for determining whether an inculpatory statement to police is tainted by past breaches of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that rendered prior statements inadmissible.
The Crown’s case against Wittwer for touching minors for a sexual purpose included a statement made by the Appellant to investigating police officers. The admissibility of the statement is in issue. In the statement, the Appellant describes a sexual encounter with two of the three complainants but he alleges that the complainants initiated the encounter and were the aggressors. The Appellant first made the statement to the police on July 29, 2003, but Crown counsel advised the police that the Appellant was not properly given Charter warnings and that the statement was likely inadmissible. On October 8, 2003, the Appellant was interviewed again but again his right to counsel was breached and Crown counsel advised the police that the second statement also would not withstand Charter scrutiny. On January 7, 2004, the police conducted a third interview and the statement was elicited a third time, without breaches of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Appellant was convicted on six counts of touching for a sexual purpose. On appeal, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
59145-2
see file / voir dossier
Supreme Court of British Columbia
59145
See file / voir dossier
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
CA034424, 2007 BCCA 275
see file / voir dossier
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
Not available