J. M. Simmons J.A.

The appellant appealed his convictions for sexual assault, unlawful confinement, and uttering threats, arguing the trial judge misapprehended evidence, rendered inconsistent verdicts, and failed to consider the defence theory of consent.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding no material errors in the trial judge's assessment of the evidence.

The Crown appealed the conditional sentence of two years less a day.

The Court agreed the sentence was a marked departure from similar cases involving sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

However, the Court dismissed the sentence appeal, concluding it was not in the public interest to incarcerate the offender given his 14 months of strict house arrest, prior bail conditions, and fresh evidence of a serious motor vehicle accident requiring ongoing rehabilitation.

The appellants appealed the trial judge's findings on two factual issues in a bifurcated medical malpractice trial: whether the appellant doctor recommended a drug to the respondent, and whether a medical note accurately recorded a meeting.

The trial judge found against the appellants on both issues, relying on expert forensic evidence suggesting the note was added to the file later.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's treatment of the expert evidence or her decision not to address equivocal evidence from other doctors.

The costs award for the bifurcated proceeding was also upheld.

The appellants were convicted of attempted murder, aggravated assault, and unlawful use of a firearm.

They appealed their convictions on several grounds, including the trial judge's charge to the jury on identification evidence and section 21(2) of the Criminal Code.

The Court of Appeal dismissed these grounds but allowed the appeal based on the Crown's closing address.

The Crown had improperly invited the jury to speculate on why one co-accused did not testify and to use that silence as positive evidence of the other's guilt.

The trial judge also erred in instructing the jury that a statement made by one co-accused to an undercover officer could be used against the other.

The appeals were allowed and a new trial was ordered.

The appellant appealed his conviction and sentence for sexual assault against a 15-year-old complainant.

He argued the trial judge erred in assessing credibility, misapprehended evidence, and reached an unreasonable verdict.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding the trial judge's credibility assessment careful and the verdict reasonable.

On the sentence appeal, the Court found that despite a potential error in principle regarding conditional sentences based on pre-Proulx case law, the sentence of one year imprisonment and two years probation was fit given the breach of trust and the complainant's age.

The appeal was dismissed.