The appellant was convicted of second degree murder by a jury.
On appeal, he argued that the trial judge erred by failing to provide a specific Hibbert-type caution to the jury regarding the frailties of in-court identification evidence by two witnesses.
The majority of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal held that the jury instructions adequately equipped the jury to evaluate the eyewitness evidence and upheld the conviction.
The dissenting judge found that the circumstances required a specific caution about the inherent frailties of in-court identification.
The Supreme Court of Canada agreed with the dissenting judge, allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction, and ordered a new trial.
