The appellant, Gordon Hartling, appealed his conviction for aggravated assault, assault, resisting arrest, and two counts of breach of probation, and his sentence.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding no misapprehension of forensic evidence, proper admission of spontaneous utterances, and no ineffective assistance of counsel.
However, the court stayed one breach of probation charge due to the Kienapple principle (same conduct grounding both charges) and allowed the sentence appeal in part, reducing the total sentence by five months.
This reduction was a remedy for an unreasonable 14-month post-verdict delay in sentencing, primarily caused by institutional resource issues in obtaining a Gladue report, which the court found not to be an exceptional circumstance.
