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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.


41160

Amy Elysia Soranno, et al. v. His Majesty the King

(British Columbia) (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)
2024-08-16 Close file on Leave
2024-08-08 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2024-08-08 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2024-08-08 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 for British Columbia (Vancouver), Numbers CA48615 and CA48616, 2024 BCCA 5, dated January 12, 2024, is dismissed.
Dismissed
2024-07-02 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court
2024-04-15 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Letter Form), Missing:
- Proof of service (Rec'd April 17, 2024), Completed on: 2024-04-17, (Printed version due on 2024-04-22)
Amy Elysia Soranno
2024-04-10 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23A, (Printed version filed on 2024-04-11) His Majesty the King
2024-04-10 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2024-04-11, (Printed version filed on 2024-04-11) His Majesty the King
2024-03-12 Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal and without formal Court of Appeal order, File opened on March 12, 2024
2024-03-11 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23A, (Printed version filed on 2024-04-02) Amy Elysia Soranno
2024-03-11 Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Trial court order, proof of service and the filing fee (Rec'd 2024-03-15), Completed on: 2024-03-15, (Printed version filed on 2024-04-22) Amy Elysia Soranno

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
Soranno, Amy Elysia Applicant Active
Schafer, Nicholas Steven George Applicant Active

v.

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

Counsel

Party: Soranno, Amy Elysia

Counsel
Name
Peter Sankoff
Contact information
Sankoff Criminal Law
Ritchie Mill
10171 Saskatchewan Dr NW #414
Edmonton, Alberta
T6E 4R5
Telephone: (780) 655-1611
Email: peter@sankoffcriminallaw.com

Party: Schafer, Nicholas Steven George

Counsel
Name
Peter Sankoff
Contact information
Sankoff Criminal Law
Ritchie Mill
10171 Saskatchewan Dr NW #414
Edmonton, Alberta
T6E 4R5
Telephone: (780) 655-1611
Email: peter@sankoffcriminallaw.com

Party: His Majesty the King

Counsel
Name
Maegan Richards
Contact information
Ministry of the Attorney General
Crown Counsel- Criminal Appeals
600-865 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G3
Telephone: (780) 422-5402
Email: Maegan.Richards@gov.bc.ca
Agent
Name
Matthew Estabrooks
Contact information
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
160 Elgin Street, Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-0211
FAX: (613) 788-3573
Email: matthew.estabrooks@gowlingwlg.com

Summary

Keywords

Criminal law — Offences — When does interference with an unlawful activity constitute mischief?

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.

Ms. Soranno and Mr. Schafer participated in an animal rights protest at a hog farm. A group of protestors broke into and occupied a barn and a breeding room, disrupting farming operations for about 6 hours. Ms. Soranno and Mr. Schafer were charged with mischief and with break and enter to commit mischief. Mid-trial, the trial judge did not permit defence counsel to continue cross-examining one of the farm owners on the care and health management of hogs and ruled that a video of mistreatment of animals was not admissible. A jury convicted Ms. Soranno and Mr. Schafer on both charges. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal.

Lower court rulings

July 9, 2022
Supreme Court of British Columbia


Convictions by a jury for mischief, and for break and enter and committing mischief therein

June 29, 2023
Supreme Court of British Columbia

2022 BCSC 1432

Evidence ruled inadmissible

January 12, 2024
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)

2024 BCCA 5

Appeal dismissed

Filed documents

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 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 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

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

The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books 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 condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

Webcasts

Not available.

Date modified: 2025-02-27