The appellant was convicted of manslaughter after stabbing a victim during an altercation.
At trial, the judge refused to charge the jury with the defence of self-defence under s. 34(1) of the Criminal Code, finding it lacked an air of reality.
The Court of Appeal upheld this decision.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, agreeing with the dissenting appellate judge that the defence of self-defence should have been put to the jury, and ordered a new trial.
