The appellant appealed a decision of the Manitoba Court of Appeal that substituted a conviction for aggravated assault in place of an acquittal.
The Supreme Court of Canada agreed that defence of property under s. 41 of the Criminal Code alone could not justify the alleged aggravated assault.
However, the Court found that the trial judge's findings were insufficient to ground a conviction, as there was no finding of an intentional stabbing and the trial judge had reservations about the evidence's reliability.
The appeal was allowed, the conviction set aside, and a new trial ordered.
