Lavoie et al. v. R., [1977] 1 SCR 193

Supreme Court of Canada

Lavoie et al. v. R., [1977] 1 S.C.R. 193

Date: 1977-02-01

Jean-Paul Lavoie, Marcel Girard, Robert Linteau and Michel Laferrière Appellants;

and

Her Majesty The Queen Respondent.

1977: February 1.

Present: Laskin C.J. and Martland, Judson, Ritchie, Spence, Pigeon, Dickson, Beetz and de Grandpré JJ.

ON APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL FOR QUEBEC.

Criminal law—Non-capital murder—Directed verdict only justified in absence of evidence—Rule in Hodge’s Case not applicable—Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1970, c. C-34, ss. 212, 213, 214, 218.

R. v. Paul (1975), 64 D.L.R. (3d) 491, [1977] 1 S.C.R. 181 followed; Hodge’s Case (1838), 2 Lewin 227, 168 E.R. 1136 referred to.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Court of Appeal for Quebec[1], setting aside a jugment of the Superior Court of criminal jurisdiction, granting a motion for a directed verdict. Appeal dismissed.

André Cartier and Bernard Lapointe, for the appellants.

Claude Gagnon, for the respondent.

The judgment was delivered orally for the Court by

THE CHIEF JUSTICE—It will not be necessary to hear you, Mr. Gagnon. We are all of the opinion that there was no error in the judgment of the Court of Appeal. On the motion by the accused for a directed verdict, the rule in Hodge’s Case[2] does not apply, as this Court held in R. v. Paul[3]. The appeal is dismissed.

Appeal dismissed.

[Page 194]

Solicitors for the appellants: Lapointe & Roy and J.M. Lavoie, Chicoutimi, and A. Cartier, Quebec.

Solicitor for the respondent: Claude Gagnon, Chicoutimi.