Supreme Court of Canada
Docket: 40090 Appeal Heard: November 30, 2022 Judgment Rendered: November 30, 2022
Parties
Ryan David Clark Appellant
v.
His Majesty The King Respondent
Indexed as: R. v. Clark
2022 SCC 49
File No.: 40090.
2022: November 30.
Present: Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown, Martin and Kasirer JJ.
On appeal from the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan
Headnote
Criminal law — Charge to jury — Evidence — Identification — Accused convicted of second degree murder by jury — Accused appealing conviction on basis that trial judge erred by failing to provide specific caution to jury regarding frailties of in‑court identification by two witnesses — Majority of Court of Appeal holding that instructions properly equipped jury to understand task in evaluating eyewitness evidence including in‑court identification — Majority upholding conviction — Dissenting judge finding that circumstances required caution about inherent frailties of in-court identification evidence and that new trial should be ordered — Conviction set aside and new trial ordered.
Cases Cited
Referred to: R. v. Hibbert, 2002 SCC 39, [2002] 2 S.C.R. 445.
History
APPEAL from a judgment of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal (Ottenbreit, Leurer and Tholl JJ.A.), 2022 SKCA 36, 475 D.L.R. (4th) 659, [2022] 6 W.W.R. 659, [2022] S.J. No. 98 (QL), 2022 CarswellSask 125 (WL), affirming the conviction of the accused for second degree murder. Appeal allowed.
Counsel
Bruce K. Campbell and Edward F. Sacher, for the appellant.
Erin Bartsch, for the respondent.
Judgment
The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by
[ 1 ] Karakatsanis J. — We agree with Justice Leurer, in dissent, that a specific Hibbert type instruction (R. v. Hibbert, 2002 SCC 39, [2002] 2 S.C.R. 445) was required in the circumstances of this case. The appeal is allowed, substantially for the reasons of Justice Leurer. The conviction is set aside and a new trial ordered.
Judgment accordingly.
Solicitor for the appellant: Legal Aid Saskatchewan, Regina Rural Area Office, Regina.
Solicitor for the respondent: Attorney General of Saskatchewan, Regina.