SUPREME COURT OF CANADA
Date: 20141208 Docket: 35758
Between:
James Steven Wilcox
Appellant
and
Her Majesty The Queen
Respondent
and
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network,
HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario and
Coalition des organismes communautaires
québécois de lutte contre le sida
Interveners
Coram: McLachlin C.J. and Rothstein, Cromwell, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Wagner and Gascon JJ.
Reasons for Judgment: (para. 1)
Karakatsanis J. (McLachlin C.J. and Rothstein, Cromwell, Moldaver, Wagner and Gascon JJ. concurring)
r. v. wilcox, 2014 SCC 75, [2014] 3 S.C.R. 616
James Steven Wilcox Appellant
v.
Her Majesty The Queen Respondent
and
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network,
HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario and
Coalition des organismes communautaires
québécois de lutte contre le sida Interveners
Indexed as: R. v. Wilcox
2014 SCC 75
File No.: 35758.
2014: December 8.
Present: McLachlin C.J. and Rothstein, Cromwell, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Wagner and Gascon JJ.
on appeal from the court of appeal for quebec
Criminal law ― Evidence ― Assessment ― Accused convicted of aggravated sexual assault as a result of having transmitted HIV to complainant ― Trial judge finding that complainant would not have engaged in sexual relations had he known about accused’s HIV positive status ― Trial judge properly analyzed complainant’s credibility in light of evidence as a whole.
Cases Cited
Referred to: R. v. W. (D.) , 1991 93 (SCC) , [1991] 1 S.C.R. 742 .
APPEAL from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal (Dalphond, Hilton and Bélanger JJ.A.), 2014 QCCA 321 , 307 C.C.C. (3d) 355, SOQUIJ AZ-51046931, [2014] Q.J. No. 1180 (QL), 2014 CarswellQue 1137, upholding the accused’s conviction for aggravated sexual assault. Appeal dismissed.
Jeffrey K. Boro and Jonathan Gordon , for the appellant.
Dennis Galiatsatos and Richard Audet , for the respondent.
Jonathan A. Shime and Amanda Ross , for the intervener the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.
Ryan Peck , for the intervener the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario.
Liz Lacharpagne , for the intervener Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le sida.
The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by
[ 1 ] Karakatsanis J. — This is an appeal as of right on a question of law. We agree with the majority of the Quebec Court of Appeal that it was open to the trial judge to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant would not have engaged in sexual relations had he known about the appellant’s HIV positive status. The fact that the trial judge also found that it was possible that the sexual relationship continued after disclosure, despite the complainant’s denial, does not necessarily render that first finding unreasonable. While it would have been preferable for the trial judge to more fully explain his reasoning relating to the complainant’s credibility, we are not satisfied that the trial judge erred in the analytical process set out in R. v. W. (D.) , 1991 93 (SCC) , [1991] 1 S.C.R. 742 , or that he failed to analyze the evidence as a whole relating to an ultimate issue. The appeal is dismissed.
Judgment accordingly.
Solicitors for the appellant: Boro, Polnicky, Lighter, Montréal.
Solicitor for the respondent: Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecution Services of Quebec, Montréal.
Solicitors for the intervener the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network: Cooper, Sandler, Shime & Bergman, Toronto.
Solicitor for the intervener the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario: HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario, Toronto.
Solicitor for the intervener Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le sida: Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le sida, Montréal.