Case information

None.

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 — Freedom of Religion — Right to liberty — Criminal law — Evidence — Admissibility — Whether Court of Appeal erred in law by finding that statements made by applicant to a police officer posing as an Obeah spiritual leader should not be excluded due to violations of applicant’s ss. 2(a), 7 Charter rights or under the “dirty tricks” doctrine — Whether Court of Appeal erred in law by applying s. 686(1)(b)(iv) of the Criminal Code in order to dismiss the applicant’s appeal as a result of a violation of his right to be present for the entirety of his trial pursuant to section 650(1) of the Criminal Code, which occurred when the trial judge engaged in an in camera and ex parte discussion with Crown counsel without the accused or defence counsel being present and without their consent — Whether Court of Appeal erred in law by finding that the trial judge’s in camera and ex parte discussion with Crown counsel was for the purpose of resolving a claim of litigation privilege — Whether Court of Appeal violated the principles of procedural fairness by making the aforementioned finding about litigation privilege without that issue having been raised by any of the parties during the argument of the appeal and without having afforded an opportunity to the applicant to make submissions on that issue during the hearing of the appeal — Whether Court of Appeal erred in finding that the speculative Crown theory about the applicant “calling out shooters” did not provide the jury with “an independent path to finding Mr. Pinnock guilty of first degree murder”, and that therefore the trial judge was not obliged to provide a specific corrective instruction to the jury — Whether the questions of law raised are of sufficient public importance — ss. 2(a), 7 of the Charter.

After a trial by judge and jury, the applicant was convicted of first degree murder. An appeal from conviction was dismissed.