Bernadette Saad

The applicant brought motions to re-open two appeals that had been dismissed as abandoned due to non-attendance and non-compliance.

The first motion related to a summary conviction appeal, which the court dismissed because it did not meet the test for leave to appeal.

The second motion related to a conviction appeal for failing to comply with a court order.

The court dismissed the second motion, finding that the explanation offered for the non-attendance and non-compliance was cast into serious doubt by information before the court, and it would not be in the interests of justice to re-open the appeal.

The youth appellant, who was unrepresented and mentally ill, pleaded guilty to break and enter with intent.

The Youth Court judge accepted the plea without a proper inquiry and subsequently found the appellant not criminally responsible (NCR) based on expert evidence that failed to address the legal test for criminal responsibility.

The Court of Appeal found fatal procedural errors, including the failure to ensure a valid plea, lack of evidence for the NCR verdict, and denial of trial fairness.

The appeal was allowed, the NCR verdict set aside, and based on the appellant's fresh acknowledgement of guilt, a conviction was entered with a sentence of one day's imprisonment.

The appellant appealed his convictions for sexually assaulting his young son, arguing his guilty pleas should be set aside because a major depressive disorder undermined their voluntariness.

The Court of Appeal held that the 'limited cognitive capacity' standard applies to determine whether a mental disorder affects the voluntariness of a guilty plea.

Applying this standard, the court preferred the Crown's expert evidence and found the appellant understood the process and made a conscious, volitional decision.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant appealed his conviction for child pornography.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge erred by relying on improper propensity reasoning related to the appellant's sexual orientation to infer knowledge.

The trial judge also erred in drawing inferences of consciousness of guilt from advice given to a witness and the location of a computer, without sufficient evidentiary basis linking them to the child pornography charge.

The appeal was allowed, the conviction set aside, and a new trial ordered.