R. v. Larue, 2019 SCC 25, [2019] 2 S.C.R. 398

Case Summary

The appellant was convicted of first degree murder following a trial in which the key witness refused to testify. The trial judge admitted the witness's prior statements as hearsay under the principled approach, finding that threshold reliability had been established. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. Applying R. v. Bradshaw, 2017 SCC 35, a majority of the panel dismissed the appeal largely for the reasons of Dickson J.A., while Karakatsanis and Brown JJ. would have allowed the appeal substantially for the reasons of Bennett J.A. The appeal was dismissed and the first degree murder conviction upheld.

Supreme Court of Canada

Appeal Heard: April 23, 2019 Judgment Rendered: April 23, 2019 Docket: 38224

Parties

Between:

Norman Eli Larue Appellant

and

Her Majesty The Queen Respondent

Coram

Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté and Brown JJ.

Reasons for Judgment

Reasons for Judgment: (paras. 1 to 2)

Abella J. (Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté and Brown JJ. concurring)

R. v. Larue, 2019 SCC 25, [2019] 2 S.C.R. 398

Norman Eli Larue — Appellant

Her Majesty The Queen — Respondent

Indexed as: R. v. Larue

2019 SCC 25

File No.: 38224.

2019: April 23.

Present: Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté and Brown JJ.

on appeal from the court of appeal for yukon

Criminal law — Evidence — Admissibility — Hearsay — Key witness refusing to testify at accused's first degree murder trial — Trial judge admitting witness's hearsay statements under principled approach to hearsay evidence — Accused convicted — Court of Appeal dismissing appeal — Trial judge did not err in ruling that threshold reliability of witness's hearsay statements had been established — Conviction upheld.

Cases Cited

Applied: R. v. Bradshaw, 2017 SCC 35, [2017] 1 S.C.R. 865.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Yukon Court of Appeal (Bennett, Dickson and Charbonneau JJ.A.), 2018 YKCA 9, 47 C.R. (7th) 133, [2018] Y.J. No. 45 (QL), 2018 CarswellYukon 50 (WL Can.), affirming the conviction of the accused for first degree murder. Appeal dismissed, Karakatsanis and Brown JJ. dissenting.

Vincent Larochelle, for the appellant.

James C. Martin and Noel Sinclair, for the respondent.

Judgment

The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by

[1] Abella J. — Applying R. v. Bradshaw, 2017 SCC 35, [2017] 1 S.C.R. 865, a majority of this panel would dismiss the appeal largely for the reasons of Dickson J.A., and Justices Karakatsanis and Brown would allow substantially for the reasons of Bennett J.A.

[2] The appeal is therefore dismissed.

Judgment accordingly.

Solicitor for the appellant: Tutshi Law Centre, Whitehorse.

Solicitor for the respondent: Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Halifax, Whitehorse.