Lindsey Santerre

The accused, charged with second-degree murder arising from a fatal stabbing, brought an application to admit evidence of the deceased’s bad character in support of a self-defence theory.

The proposed evidence included the deceased’s criminal record, reputation as a “tough guy”, prior drug use, and police occurrence reports.

The court held that evidence of bad character not known to the accused must still satisfy the requirements of relevance and admissibility, and that its probative value must outweigh its prejudicial effect.

The court found the proposed evidence lacked sufficient probative value and risked inviting the jury to reason improperly about the deceased’s character.

The application was largely dismissed, though evidence of the deceased’s intention to confront and assault the accused on the night in question was permitted.

The accused was charged with care and control of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs contrary to section 253(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.

The Crown alleged that on May 9, 2014, the accused drove while impaired.

The accused challenged the lawfulness of the investigation, alleging Charter breaches under sections 8, 9, 10(a), and 10(b).

The court found that the investigating officer had reasonable and probable grounds to make a breathalyzer demand, that the drug evaluation demand was made as soon as practicable, and that the accused's Charter rights were not infringed.

The court found the accused guilty based on evidence of impairment by both alcohol and drugs.