The accused was tried on a charge of assault after admitting that he punched the complainant once in the face during a chaotic late-night altercation outside her home.
The central issue was whether the punch was justified under s. 34 of the Criminal Code.
The court found significant credibility and reliability problems in the complainant's and some civilian eyewitnesses' accounts, accepted much of the defence evidence, and was left with reasonable doubt about the extent of the assault beyond the single punch.
Applying the modern self-defence framework, the court held there was an air of reality to the defence and that the Crown failed to disprove the accused's reasonable belief in a threat of force, his defensive purpose, and the reasonableness of his response.
The charge was dismissed.
