Supreme Court Judgments

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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

                    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.

                    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.

                    Bruce K. Campbell and Edward F. Sacher, for the appellant.

                    Erin Bartsch, for the respondent.

                    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.