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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.


40169

Martin Peter Sutherland v. His Majesty the King

(Manitoba) (Criminal) (By Leave)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2022-10-27 Close file on Leave
2022-09-29 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2022-09-29 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2022-09-29 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 of Manitoba, Number AR21-30-09591, 2022 MBCA 23, dated February 24, 2022, is dismissed.
Dismissed
2022-08-29 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court
2022-08-03 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-08-08, (Printed version filed on 2022-08-05) Martin Peter Sutherland
2022-06-30 Certificate (on limitations to public access) His Majesty the King
2022-06-30 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-07-05, (Printed version filed on 2022-06-30) His Majesty the King
2022-06-03 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2022-06-03
2022-04-20 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2022-04-21) Martin Peter Sutherland
2022-04-20 Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-04-20, (Printed version filed on 2022-04-21) Martin Peter Sutherland

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

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
Sutherland, Martin Peter Applicant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
His Majesty the King Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: Sutherland, Martin Peter

Counsel
Joshua Rogala
Barry Walker
Rees Dyck Rogala Law Offices
1640-155 Carlton Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 3H8
Telephone: (204) 415-5544
FAX: (800) 210-0966
Email: josh@rdrlaw.ca
Agent
Marie-France Major
Supreme Advocacy LLP
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca

Party: His Majesty the King

Counsel
Renée Lagimodière
Attorney General of Manitoba
6 - 405 Broadway
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 3L6
Telephone: (204) 945-5778
FAX: (204) 945-1260
Email: renee.lagimodiere2@gov.mb.ca
Agent
D. Lynne Watt
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com

Summary

Keywords

Criminal law — Evidence — Admissibility — Application of the curative proviso in s. 686(1)(b)(iii) of the Criminal Code — Proper application of the curative proviso when inadmissible expert evidence was tendered — Whether the curative proviso requires clarification — Whether the Court of Appeal erred in conducting their assessment of the curative proviso resulting in a wrongful conviction.

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.

The victim died from multiple stab wounds. Mr. Conway’s evidence was that he and the applicant had been drinking and wanted more money for alcohol, so they decided to commit a robbery and picked the victim’s house randomly. Mr. Conway pled guilty to second degree murder, and then testified for the Crown at the applicant’s trial. The applicant testified, and denied any involvement in the killing. Following a voir dire, the trial judge concluded Sgt. Catellier could provide some opinion evidence on DNA. After a trial by judge and jury, the applicant was convicted of second degree murder. The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge erred in admitting some of the opinion evidence. The Court of Appeal applied the curative proviso, and dismissed the conviction appeal.

Lower court rulings

October 31, 2018
Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba

CR-17-03-00419

Conviction entered: second degree murder

February 24, 2022
Court of Appeal of Manitoba

2022 MBCA 23, AR21-30-09591

Appeal dismissed

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

Not available

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

Webcasts

Not available.

Date modified: 2025-02-27