Hyperlawhypertext legal database R. v. Pittman [1994] 1 SCR 148

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R. v. Pittman

[1994] 1 SCR 148 Court SCC Decision date 1994-01-28 Docket 23436 English

PartiesGregory William Pittman Appellant·Her Majesty the Queen Respondent

Judges La Forest, Gérard V.; Sopinka, John; Gonthier, Charles Doherty; Cory, Peter deCarteret; Iacobucci, Frank

Decision 4–1 Majority (4) · Sopinka J. (1)

On appeal from Nova Scotia

Subjects Criminal law

Contents

Majority

The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by

Sopinka J.

Sopinka J. ‑‑ This is an appeal as of right. The basis of the dissent of Jones J.A. in the Court of Appeal is whether a warning pursuant to Vetrovec v. The Queen, [1982] 1 S.C.R. 811, was appropriate in the circumstances of this case. This does not raise a question of law although failure to give a warning in some circumstances may constitute a miscarriage of justice. The appellant, therefore, does not have an appeal as of right to this Court.
Having heard the appellant on the merits, however, we are of the view that, even if the Court had jurisdiction to entertain the appeal, we would dismiss it. In the circumstances of this case, failure to give a Vetrovec warning to the jury did not result in a miscarriage of justice.
The appeal is, therefore, dismissed.
Judgment accordingly.
Solicitor for the appellant: Allan F. Nicholson, Sydney.
Solicitor for the respondent: The Attorney General of Nova Scotia, Halifax.

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