Court of Appeal for Ontario
Before: Rosenberg, Feldman and Cronk JJ.A.
Between:
Her Majesty the Queen
Respondent
and
June Okafor
Appellant
Counsel:
Mark Halfyard for the appellant
Amy Alyea for the respondent
Heard and endorsed: December 9, 2009
On appeal from conviction by Justice Robert D. Reilly of the Superior Court of Justice dated February 6, 2004.
APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT
1The appellant raises two issues. First, that the trial judge failed to properly assess the evidence of Mr. Nwagbugbo and in particular failed to apply the principles in R. v. Vetrovec. The trial judge was alive to the evidence of Mr. Nwagbugbo and especially the improbable elements of it. The trial judge was not required to expressly refer to Vetrovec.
2Second, the appellant argues that the trial judge erred in presuming that the appellant had knowledge of all the materials in the various civil suits. Assuming that was an error, the appellant suffered no prejudice. These civil suits constituted a very minor aspect of this case and the appellant was confronted with the documents that the Crown relied upon and given the opportunity to provide her explanation. In the very lengthy reasons there is nothing to indicate that the trial judge relied on this presumption in convicting the appellant.
3Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.