Court of Appeal for Ontario
Judges: Goudge, Gillese and Ducharme JJ.A.
Between:
Her Majesty the Queen Respondent
and
Chad Noseworthy Appellant
Counsel: Ariel Herscovitch and Stephanie DiGiuseppe, for the appellant Catherine Mullaly, for the respondent
Heard: May 22, 2012
On appeal from the conviction entered on August 5, 2010 by Justice Simon C. Armstrong of the Ontario Court of Justice, sitting without a jury.
APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT
1The appellant says that the trial judge erred in his assessment of the complainant’s credibility and this warrants a new trial.
2We do not agree. The trial judge was fully aware that the complainant was not an ideal witness and the reasons for that. It was open to him to take her candidness into account as supportive of the view that she was not trying to mislead the Court with her evidence. The trial judge made clear that he was aware of and took account of the various failings pointed to by the appellant. In the end it was open to him to accept the fundamental point of her evidence namely that the appellant punched her in the head.
3The appeal must be dismissed.