The Crown appealed a Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision that set aside convictions for first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and ordered a new trial.
The Supreme Court agreed that the trial judge's instructions on party liability for first degree murder were in error, such that the first degree murder conviction could not stand.
However, the Court held that the trial judge was not required to charge the jury on manslaughter, as the evidence did not meet the air of reality test.
The Court further held that the trial judge did not err in the evidence left for the jury under the third prong of the Carter test for admissibility of co-conspirator hearsay.
Accordingly, the appeal was allowed in part: the conspiracy conviction was restored and a conviction for second degree murder was substituted.
