Case information

Criminal law – Defences – Not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder (NCR) – Evidence – Whether the lower courts erred in the NCR assessment – Whether the lower courts erred – Whether any of the issues raised are issues of public importance.

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 applicant entered a store, talked about the earth “burning in the west”, claimed he was entitled to free cigarettes, and took them while resisting the employee’s efforts to stop him. Officers arrested the applicant shortly thereafter. After the trial judge determined the essential elements of robbery had been established beyond a reasonable doubt, the Crown applied for a special verdict that the applicant was not criminally responsible for his actions on account of mental disorder under s. 16 of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46. The trial judge was satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that when the offences were committed, the applicant was “acting under the influence of [a] disease of the mind.” Considering the totality of the evidence, the trial judge found on a balance of probabilities that the applicant was NCR-MD at the time of the offences. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and application to admit fresh evidence.