Dr. David Chan

The appellant appealed his manslaughter conviction, arguing the proceedings should have been stayed as an abuse of process due to the misconduct of a forensic pathologist and the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario.

The appellant had previously been convicted of murder based on the pathologist's flawed pediatric forensic pathology evidence, a conviction later overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Court of Appeal held that while the state actors' misconduct was egregious and fell within the residual category of abuse of process, a stay of proceedings was not warranted.

Balancing the interests, the court found that a trial on the merits was appropriate given the serious nature of the allegations of chronic physical child abuse and the fact that the systemic issues had since been addressed.

The appellants were convicted of various offences, including murder and criminal negligence causing death, relating to the death of their infant son.

The convictions were largely based on the expert testimony of a Crown witness.

Following the dismissal of their appeals by the Court of Appeal, fresh expert evidence became available that discredited the Crown's expert.

The Supreme Court of Canada admitted the fresh evidence and ordered a new trial on all counts, finding that the unreliable expert evidence was central to the Crown's case and could have affected the jury's verdicts on both the homicide and non-homicide charges.

The appellants were convicted of offences relating to the death of their eight-month-old son, who was found to have suffered extensive physical abuse during his life.

The father was convicted of second-degree murder and assaults, while the mother was convicted of criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life.

On appeal, they argued the verdicts were unreasonable because the exact medical cause of death could not be determined, and challenged the admission of demeanour evidence, evidence of injuries to their second child, and various jury instructions.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals, finding that the Crown was not required to prove a specific medical cause of death, and that while there were minor errors in the admission of evidence and jury instructions, they did not occasion a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice given the overwhelming evidence of ongoing abuse.

The applicant, convicted of murder and assault in the death of his infant son, brought an application seeking production of Crown materials regarding the competency and objectivity of the Crown's paediatric pathology expert, Dr. Smith, in other criminal cases.

The applicant intended to use this material to adduce fresh evidence on his pending appeal.

The Court of Appeal held that while the Crown's disclosure obligations continue post-conviction, the applicant must demonstrate a reasonable possibility that the requested material could assist in the appeal and be received as fresh evidence.

The application was dismissed because the applicant offered no evidence to doubt the specific medical opinions given by the expert in this case, meaning evidence of the expert's conduct in other cases could not reasonably be expected to affect the verdict.