Robin Reid

The appellant appealed a decision of the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal, which had set aside his acquittal on a charge of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, agreeing with the majority of the Court of Appeal that there was sufficient material before the Justice of the Peace to support the issuance of the search warrant.

The accused was charged with kidnapping and sexual assault of a mentally disabled woman.

At trial, the Crown did not call the complainant to testify, instead relying on expert evidence to establish her incompetence and seeking to admit her out-of-court statements under the principled approach to hearsay.

The trial judge admitted the statements and convicted the accused of kidnapping and assault causing bodily harm.

The Court of Appeal quashed the assault conviction and ordered a new trial.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the Crown's appeal, holding that the expert evidence was improperly admitted as testimonial competence is within the trial judge's expertise, and that necessity for admitting hearsay was not established since the complainant was available and there was no evidence that testifying would cause her trauma.