COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO
CITATION: R. v. Semlitch, 2012 ONCA 264
DATE: 20120430
DOCKET: C54338
Laskin, Rosenberg and Watt JJ.A.
BETWEEN
Her Majesty The Queen
Respondent
and
James Semlitch
Appellant
Counsel:
Sam Goldstein, for the appellant
Scott Latimer, for the respondent
Heard and endorsed: April 23, 2012
On appeal from the conviction entered on June 14, 2011 by Justice Lisa Cameron of the Ontario Court of Justice.
APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT
[1] The appellant submits that the trial judge misapprehended the evidence in material respects that impacted on her credibility findings. For the following reasons the appeal is dismissed:
The trial judge found that Mr. Whitmore did not have a motive to lie. This finding was reasonably open to the trial judge. On this record, there was no evidence of an inducement held out to Mr. Whitmore. The fact that the appellant testified that he did not need the information on the tower, even if believed, did not affect Mr. Whitmore’s motive.
There was independent evidence capable of confirming Mr. Whitmore’s testimony in the fact that only the appellant had a motive to steal the computer tower. In other words, the manner in which the break-in occurred and the items stolen was independent confirmatory evidence. At its highest, the unresolved issue of the $5,000 only affected the credibility of Mr. Matthews, whose evidence was not essential to the conviction.
It was for the trial judge to decide whether Mr. Whitmore’s recitation of events was consistent. The strength of the inferences were for the trial judge. In particular, there was a basis for finding that the appellant knew Mr. Whitmore.
The trial judge did not commit a reversible error in finding the appellant lied about not knowing Mr. Whitmore. The unequivocal way in which the appellant testified about not knowing Mr. Whitmore did not leave room for any honest mistake.
[2] Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.