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.
32323
Neil William Smith v. Her Majesty the Queen
(Nova Scotia) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-01-30 | Appeal closed | |
| 2009-01-23 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2009-01-23 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2009-01-22 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro, The appeal from the judgment of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Number CAC206003, 2007 NSCA 19, dated February 13, 2007, heard on March 28, 2008, is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2008-04-08 | Transcript received, (133 pages) | |
| 2008-03-28 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2008-03-28 | Respondent's condensed book, Submitted in Court - Joint with 31980 (14 copies) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-03-28 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all parties | |
| 2008-03-28 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2008-03-28, Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro Judgment reserved |
|
| 2008-03-18 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2008-03-14 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2008-03-14 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-03-12 | Notice of appearance, Timothy Breen will be present at the hearing. | Neil William Smith |
| 2008-03-10 | Notice of appearance, James A. Gumpert, Q.C., Peter J. Craig & jennifer A. MacLellan will be present at the hearing | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-02-28 | Order on motion to extend time | |
| 2008-02-28 |
Decision on motion to extend time, De, ON APPLICATION by counsel for the Respondent for an order extending the time for the Respondent to serve and file Her factum and authorities to and including March 18, 2008, and permitting counsel for the Respondent to make oral argument to the Court at the hearing of this appeal notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 71(3) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, and upon reading the pleadings and proceedings: 1. IT IS ORDERED that the time for the Respondent to serve and file Her Factum and Book of Authorities and the same is hereby extended to and including March 18, 2008. 2. AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that counsel for the Respondent be and the same is hereby permitted to make oral argument to the Court at the hearing of this appeal. Granted |
|
| 2008-02-28 | Submission of motion to extend time, De | |
| 2008-02-21 | Response to motion to extend time, (Letter Form), from Terri H. Semanyk dated Feb. 20/08, Completed on: 2008-02-21 | Neil William Smith |
| 2008-02-21 | Motion to extend time, to file the respondent's (and authorities) to Marchb18/08 and to make oral submission at the hearing of the appeal, Completed on: 2008-02-21 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-02-12 | Appellant's record, Completed on: 2008-02-12 | Neil William Smith |
| 2008-02-12 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2008-02-12 | Neil William Smith |
| 2008-02-12 | Appellant's factum, (CD rec'd Feb. 13/08), Completed on: 2008-02-12 | Neil William Smith |
| 2008-01-09 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2008-01-09 | Neil William Smith |
| 2007-12-20 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2007-12-20 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2008-03-28 Judgment reserved |
|
| 2007-12-19 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2007-12-19 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2007-12-18 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for an extension of time and the application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Number CAC206003, 2007 NSCA 19, dated February 13, 2007, are granted. This appeal is to be heard with Gurkirpal Singh Khela v. Her Majesty the Queen (31933) and Wayne Alexander James v. Her Majesty the Queen (31980) on March 28, 2008. The following schedule is set for serving and filing material: 1.The appellant shall serve and file his factum, record and book of authorities on or before February 12, 2008; 2.The respondent shall serve and file its factum, record and book of authorities on or before March 11, 2008. Granted |
|
| 2007-12-18 |
Decision on motion to extend time to file and /or serve the leave application, see above judgment Granted |
|
| 2007-11-26 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ F Ro | |
| 2007-11-26 | Submission of motion to extend time to file and/ or serve the leave application, CJ F Ro | |
| 2007-10-29 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2007-10-29 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2007-10-29 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2007-10-25 | Motion to extend the time to file and or serve the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2007-10-25 | Neil William Smith |
| 2007-10-25 | Application for leave to appeal, motion ext. of time included (new covers and notice requested rec'd with service Nov. 1/07), Completed on: 2007-11-27 | Neil William Smith |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Smith, Neil William | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Smith, Neil William
Counsel
370 Bloor St. E.
Toronto, Ontario
M4W 3M6
Telephone: (416) 927-9000
FAX: (416) 927-9069
Agent
150 Isabella Street, Suite 1207
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 1V7
Telephone: (613) 238-6969 Ext: 2
FAX: (613) 238-9916
Email: tsemanyk@sspclaw.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Peter J. Craig
Jennifer A. MacLellan
1225 - 1505 Barrington St.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3K5
Telephone: (902) 424-8734
FAX: (902) 424-4484
Email: gumperja@gov.ns.ca
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.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) - Charge to jury - Whether the trial judge erred in his Vetrovec caution - Nature of evidence capable of confirming or corroborating the evidence of unsavoury witnesses.
The Appellant was charged with three others with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The Crown’s theory of the case was that the Appellant ordered the killing, the co-accused James and the Crown’s key witness arranged it, and it was carried out by two others. The Crown’s key witness subsequently became a police agent. The Appellant challenged the witness’ credibility at trial and the trial judge warned the jury of the dangers associated with the evidence given the witness’ own role in the murder (the “Vetrovec” warning). The Appellant and James were convicted of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal upheld the sufficiency of the Vetrovec caution.
Lower court rulings
Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
CAC206003, 2007 NSCA 19
Appeals are dismissed
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
Related links
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
Related links
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