Appealing a Summary Convictiony Acquittal
Section 813(b)(i) of the Criminal Code allows the Crown to appeal the trial judge’s decision to the summary conviction appeal court upon questions of law alone, questions of mixed fact and law, or questions of fact: R v Balogun-Jubril, 2016 ONCA 199 at para 9
Appealing a Summary Conviction Appeal
An appellant can only appeal a summary conviction appeal with leave on a question of law alone, not a question of fact or mixed fact and law: R v Balogun-Jubril, 2016 ONCA 199 at paras 7-8; R v Lam, 2016 ONCA 850 at para 9
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The relevant factors to be considered when deciding whether to grant leave to appeal in summary conviction proceedings are:
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the significance of the proposed question of law to the general administration of criminal justice; and
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the strength of the appeal: R v Owens, 2015 ONCA 652; R v Khanna, 2016 ONCA 39 at para 4; Balogun-Jubril at para 8; Lam at para 10
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The first category arises where the merits of the legal question are arguable, even if not strong, if the legal question has broader significance to the administration of justice: Khanna at para 5; Lam at para 10
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The second category arises where there appears to be a “clear” legal error, even if it doesn't have significance to the braoder administration of justice - especially where the conviction is serious and the applicant faces a significant deprivation of liberty: Khanna at para 5
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Almost by definition, complaints about misapprehension of evidence by the summary conviction appeal court are case-specific and do not transcend the idiosyncrasies of the case at hand: Lam at para 13
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It is insufficient to invoke the frequency with which a certain offence populate the lists in the Ontario Court of Justice: Lam at para 14