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.
40480
Stephen Charles Walton, et al. v. His Majesty the King
(Alberta) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-21 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2023-05-25 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2023-05-25 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2023-05-25 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The motion to join two Court of Appeal of Alberta files in a single application for leave to appeal is granted. The motion for an extension of time to serve and file the application for leave to appeal is granted. The application for leave to appeal from the judgments of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary), Numbers 1901-0377A and 1901-0378A, 2022 ABCA 276, dated August 25, 2022, is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2023-05-25 |
Decision on the miscellaneous motion, See decision on judgment Granted |
|
| 2023-05-25 |
Decision on motion to extend time to file and /or serve the leave application, See decision on judgment Granted |
|
| 2023-03-20 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2023-03-20 | Submission of miscellaneous motion, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2023-03-20 | Submission of motion to extend time to file and/ or serve the leave application, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2023-01-24 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23A/23B | His Majesty the King |
| 2023-01-24 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2023-01-25, (Printed version filed on 2023-01-24) | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-12-13 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2022-12-13 | |
| 2022-12-05 | Response to the motion to extend the time to file and / or serve the leave application, Respondent consents to the applicants’ motion for extension of time, Completed on: 2022-12-13 | His Majesty the King |
| 2022-12-02 | Notice of miscellaneous motion, (Book Form), (Included in the application for leave to appeal), Request to file a single Joint Application for Leave to Appeal., Completed on: 2022-12-13, (Printed version filed on 2022-12-02) | Stephen Charles Walton |
| 2022-12-02 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23A / 23B, (Printed version filed on 2022-12-02) | Stephen Charles Walton |
| 2022-12-02 | Motion to extend the time to file and or serve the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2022-12-02, (Printed version filed on 2022-12-02) | Stephen Charles Walton |
| 2022-12-02 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-12-02, (Printed version filed on 2022-12-02) | Stephen Charles Walton |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Walton, Stephen Charles | Applicant | Active |
| Walton, Heather Naomi | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| His Majesty the King | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Walton, Stephen Charles
Counsel
Jeremy Newton
990-630 6 Ave SW
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0S8
Telephone: (403) 402-9698
Email: jared@jcraiglaw.com
Agent
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Walton, Heather Naomi
Counsel
Jeremy Newton
990-630 6 Ave SW
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0S8
Telephone: (403) 402-9698
Email: jared@jcraiglaw.com
Agent
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
3rd Floor, Centrium Place
Suite 300-332 6th Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0B2
Telephone: (403) 297-6005
FAX: (403) 297-3453
Email: brian.graff@gov.ab.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
Summary
Keywords
Charter of Rights — Search and Seizure — Standing — Whether the applicants had standing to assert a violation of their rights pursuant to s. 8 of the Charter — Did the trial judge err in law in interpreting and applying the legal test to find that the applicants did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in electronic communications in possession of a third party — Did the trial judge err in law by relying on the failure of the applicants to testify at the voir dire to find that they did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 8.<br>
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 Waltons operated a private security company. They were hired by Mr. Carter to provide protection services and to gather information in support of Mr. Carter’s position in a custody dispute. Mr. Braile worked for the Waltons. He contacted the mother of the child directly and then the police. A criminal investigation ensued. The police relied on Mr. Braile’s voluntary consent and electronic communications to secure the production orders and search warrants. At a voir dire, the trial judge dismissed the Waltons’ s. 8 Charter challenge finding that they lacked standing to bring the application because they did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the electronic communications stored by Mr. Braile on his email account. After a trial by judge and jury, Mr. Walton was convicted of criminal harassment. Both Mr. Walton and Ms. Walton were convicted of bribery of a peace officer and a firearms offence. The Court of Appeal dismissed the Waltons’ appeal.
Lower court rulings
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
160682894Q3, 2018 ABQB 667
Voir dire ruling: the Waltons’ Charter application dismissed
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
160682894Q3
Mr. Walton convicted of criminal harassment; both Mr. Walton and Ms. Walton convicted of bribery of a peace officer and a firearms offence
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary)
1901-0377A, 1901-0378A, 2022 ABCA 276
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
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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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