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.
32650
Her Majesty the Queen v. Earl Harris
(Quebec) (Criminal) (As of Right)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-06-23 | Appeal closed | |
| 2009-06-19 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2009-06-19 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2009-06-18 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro, The appeals from the judgments of the Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal), Numbers 500-10-003154-059 and 500-10-003151-055, dated May 2, 2008, heard on November 14, 2008, are allowed and the convictions are restored, LeBel and Fish JJ. dissenting. Allowed |
|
| 2008-11-28 | Transcript received, (68 pages) | |
| 2008-11-14 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2008-11-14 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all the parties | |
| 2008-11-14 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2008-11-14, Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro Judgment reserved |
|
| 2008-10-31 | Notice of appearance, Thierry Nadon and Geneviève Dagenais will be present at the hearing. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-10-21 | Notice of withdrawal, (Letter Form), dated Oct. 17/08 of Jeffrey K. Boro as counsel (sent to the Court Oct. 21/08) | Earl Harris |
| 2008-10-20 | Correspondence received from, Earl Roy Harris dated Oct. 17/08 re: consents to Mr. Boro's withdrawal and intends to rely to arguments advanced by counsel for Griffin (32649) (sent to the Court Oct. 21/08) | Earl Harris |
| 2008-10-14 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2008-08-22 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2008-08-22 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2008-11-14 Judgment reserved |
|
| 2008-08-14 | Appellant's book of authorities, Joint with 32649, Completed on: 2008-08-14 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-08-14 | Appellant's record, Joint with 32649 (26 volumes), Completed on: 2008-08-14 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-08-14 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2008-08-14 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2008-07-15 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2008-05-23 | Notice of appeal, CD returned - rec'd June 4, 2008 with proof of service, Completed on: 2008-05-23 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Harris, Earl | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Geneviève Dagenais
4.100-1 rue Notre-Dame est
Montréal, Quebec
H2Y 1B6
Telephone: (514) 393-2703 Ext: 52152
FAX: (514) 873-9895
Email: tnadon@justice.gouv.qc.ca
Agent
17, rue Laurier
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 4C1
Telephone: (819) 776-8111 Ext: 60411
FAX: (819) 772-3986
Email: pdesrosiers@justice.gouv.qc.ca
Party: Harris, Earl
This party is not represented by counsel.
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 - Trial - Charge to jury - Burden of proof - Presumption of innocence - Out-of-court statement - Whether jury charge concerning burden of proof and presumption of innocence was erroneous - Whether jury charge concerning out-of-court statement by victim was erroneous.
Mr. Harris was convicted of manslaughter, while his co-accused, Mr. Griffin, was convicted of first degree murder. On appeal, Mr. Harris argued, inter alia, that the trial judge had misdirected the jury on the burden of proof and had erred in law by admitting an out-of-court statement by the victim, Mr. Poirier. The majority of the Court of Appeal found that the instructions given to the jury on the burden of proof could have confused the jurors and led them to believe that the defence had a burden of proof. It also found that the instructions could have led the jury to apply a standard of proof lower than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Finally, the majority of the Court of Appeal found that the victim’s out-of-court statement was admissible but that the instructions to the jury on the use of that statement could have led the jurors to believe they could use it to eliminate the evidence that other individuals may have had reasons to kill Mr. Poirier, when its only proper use was to establish the victim’s state of mind, that is, his fear of Mr. Griffin. The appeal was allowed and a new trial ordered. Côté J.A., dissenting, would have dismissed the appeal.
Lower court rulings
Superior Court of Quebec
500-01-009882-033
See file
Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal)
500-10-003154-059
Appeal allowed; sets aside verdict of confiction and orders a new trial
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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