2 total
Conviction appeal dismissed; verdict was reasonable as evidence supported finding that appellant possessed the narcotics.
The appellant appealed his conviction for a narcotics offence, arguing that the verdict was unreasonable.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the totality of the evidence supported the trial judge's finding that the appellant was the only occupant with knowledge of the narcotics.
The court concluded that the verdict was one that a properly instructed jury, acting judicially, could reasonably have rendered.
Directed verdicts of acquittal for bawdy-house charges set aside as evidence of masturbation could constitute prostitution.
The Crown appealed the directed verdicts of acquittal of the respondents on charges of keeping and being inmates of a common bawdy-house.
The trial judge had acquitted the respondents based on Supreme Court of Canada decisions regarding acts of indecency.
The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge erred in law, as there was evidence that the respondents offered to perform acts of masturbation for payment, which a trier of fact could find constituted acts of prostitution.
The Court also found sufficient evidence of frequent or habitual use to pass the directed verdict stage.
The appeals were allowed, the acquittals set aside, and new trials ordered.
