Brian Pfefferle

The appellant appealed a judgment of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan.

The Supreme Court of Canada delivered an oral judgment dismissing the appeal and ordering the appellant to surrender himself into custody within 48 hours, with reasons to follow.

The Crown appealed a Court of Appeal decision setting aside a sexual assault conviction and ordering a new trial.

The majority of the Supreme Court held that the trial judge's reasons, read in context, clearly established beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant did not subjectively consent to any sexual activity with the respondent.

The Court found that the circumstantial evidence — including the complainant's emotional state, her attempts to leave, and her reaction upon recovering from memory blackouts — reasonably permitted only one inference: absence of consent.

The majority agreed with the dissenting judge at the Court of Appeal and restored the conviction.

The sentence appeal was remanded back to the Court of Appeal.

The appellant challenged a first degree murder conviction on the basis of unreasonable verdict.

The Court affirmed that the verdict of the trial judge was reasonable and adopted the majority reasons of the provincial appellate court.

The appeal was dismissed from the bench on the hearing date.

The conviction for first degree murder remained in force.