The appellant was charged with manslaughter after the deceased died from injuries sustained in a fist fight outside a bar.
The trial judge acquitted the appellant on the basis of self-defence under s. 34(1) of the Criminal Code.
The Court of Appeal set aside the acquittal and ordered a new trial.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that self-defence under s. 34(1) is not available to a combatant in a consensual fist fight because neither party can claim to be the innocent victim of an unprovoked assault.
The trial judge erred by failing to determine whether the appellant had consented to the fight and by misinterpreting the limits of consent to assault established in Jobidon.
