Courtney Keystone

The appellant was convicted after a three-day trial of nine domestic violence offences against his wife, including two counts of assault, three counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of uttering death threats, sexual assault, and unlawful confinement.

The charges were based on five alleged incidents occurring between September 2010 and August 2012.

The appellant was sentenced to 35 months in prison.

On appeal, the sole ground raised was ineffective assistance of counsel at trial resulting in a miscarriage of justice.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the alleged deficiencies in counsel's representation did not result in an unfair trial or an unreliable verdict.

The Crown brought an application under section 672.11(b) of the Criminal Code seeking an assessment order to determine whether the accused was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of committing the offences so as to be exempt from criminal responsibility.

The accused had pleaded guilty to public mischief and failing to comply with a recognizance.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the evidence did not establish reasonable grounds to believe an assessment was necessary.

The evidence consisted of observations of odd behaviour and a statement by the accused that he was schizophrenic and receiving treatment, which was insufficient to meet the threshold for ordering an assessment.