The respondent, a physician, was charged with 14 counts of sexual assault against seven female patients.
Prior to trial, a chambers judge ordered the counts severed and divided based on the part of the body involved in the alleged assault.
At trial, the trial judge excluded evidence relating to the severed counts and the testimony of the respondent's ranking medical officer, and subsequently granted a motion for a non-suit.
The Crown appealed.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that the pre-trial severance order was subject to review despite the rule against collateral attack, and that it was jurisdictionally and substantively flawed.
The Court also found that the trial judge erred in excluding the evidence and in granting the non-suit by improperly weighing the evidence and applying the wrong standard.
A new trial was ordered.
