Case information

Criminal law — Evidence — Eyewitness identification — Sentencing — Dangerous offender designation — Indeterminate sentence — Whether permitting Crown counsel to emphasize police officers are trained observers elevated a police officer’s eyewitness identification evidence beyond what is supported by case law or social science — Proper weight to be given to police identification evidence — Whether dangerous offender legislation is being interpreted too broadly?

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.

A lone masked man robbed a bank. The only issue at trial was identity. A police officer saw the robber run from the bank and get into a vehicle. The robber was alone. While attempting to open the driver side door to arrest the robber, the officer saw the robber unmasked for approximately 10 20 seconds, before the robber sped away. Later that day, the officer picked Mr. McConville from a photo lineup. The lineup did not include a picture of Mr. McConville’s brother who had been in the vicinity of the robbery at the relevant time. The officer testified at trial. He identified Mr. McConville and denied the robber was Mr. McConville’s brother. In part, the officer testified that as he was attempting to arrest the robber, he was gathering as much detail as he could in case he was called upon to identify the robber later and he said “facial features you cannot change, like jaw, lips, nose, eyes”. He said, “as a trained investigator we’re taught to hone in on those features”. Crown counsel referred to that testimony in closing. The trial judge instructed the jury on eyewitness identification evidence. The jury convicted Mr. McConville of robbery, disguise with intent, failure to stop for police, and dangerous driving. The trial judge declared Mr. McConville a dangerous offender and imposed an indeterminate sentence. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from the convictions and sentence.