Court of Appeal for Ontario

CITATION: R. v. Lewis, 2009 ONCA 186

DATE: 20090302

DOCKET: C45103

BEFORE: O’Connor A.C.J.O., Rosenberg and Goudge JJ.A.

BETWEEN:

Her Majesty the Queen

Respondent

and

Brent Lewis

Appellant

COUNSEL:

Timothy E. Breen for the appellant

Benita Wassenaar for the respondent

Heard and released orally: February 24, 2009

On appeal from conviction by Justice Faye McWatt of the Superior Court of Justice, dated September 22, 2005, and sentence imposed dated October 19, 2005.

ENDORSEMENT

[1] We are satisfied that the trial judge did not misapprehend the evidence. Accordingly, we only called on counsel with respect to the submission that the verdict was unreasonable. That submission is based on the fact that the medical evidence is inconsistent with the violent assault described by the principal Crown witness. However, in our view, it was open to the trial judge to find that the appellant committed a simple assault given the substantial circumstantial evidence including the blood spatters in places described by the witness, the injuries to both the victim and the appellant, and the blood on the co-accused’s shoe. The trial judge was not required to accept either all or none of the Crown witness’s evidence. There was a basis in the evidence for finding simple assault.

[2] Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.

Signed: "Dennis O’Connor ACJO" "M. Rosenberg J.A." "S.T. Goudge J.A."