The respondent was acquitted of second degree murder following a group fight on an Indian Reserve.
The Crown appealed, arguing the trial judge erred by instructing the jury that section 21 of the Criminal Code (parties to an offence) did not apply.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial for manslaughter, holding that because there was evidence that more than one person participated in the fatal assault, it was a fatal error in law to exclude section 21 from the jury's consideration.