Close X
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
ADVT 
National

Supreme Court To Rule On Use Of Sexual History In Edmonton Assault Trial

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Jun, 2019 11:59 PM

    OTTAWA — A Supreme Court decision due this morning could clarify the law on how much of the history between a complainant and a person accused in a sexual-assault case can be brought into court.

     

    Patrick John Goldfinch was charged in 2014 with assaulting a woman he once lived with.


    He was acquitted at his trial in Edmonton after a jury heard evidence that he and the alleged victim still had a "friends-with-benefits" relationship.


    A complainant's sexual history can't ordinarily be used as evidence unless it's directly relevant to the charge.


    But in this case, the judge allowed it, worried that jurors would have thought the relationship was platonic if they didn't know about Goldfinch's history with the woman.


    Alberta's Court of Appeal said last year that could have been avoided without specifically talking about their sexual history, and now the Supreme Court is to make a final decision.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    17 Temperature Records Wednesday As Southern B.C. Sweltered In Pre-Summer Heat

    VANCOUVER — Temperature records tumbled across much of British Columbia's south coast Wednesday as Environment Canada says a strong ridge of high pressure kept clouds away.

    17 Temperature Records Wednesday As Southern B.C. Sweltered In Pre-Summer Heat

    Court Ruling Expands Alberta's Blood Reserve, Canada's Largest

    Canada's largest Indigenous reserve is about to get larger.

    Court Ruling Expands Alberta's Blood Reserve, Canada's Largest

    Man Faces Charges After Car Slams Into Quebec Office Helping Flood Victims

    Man Faces Charges After Car Slams Into Quebec Office Helping Flood Victims
    STE-MARTHE-SUR-LE-LAC, Que. — Police say a man who allegedly drove his vehicle into an office that was helping flood victims will face charges of dangerous driving and assault with a weapon.    

    Man Faces Charges After Car Slams Into Quebec Office Helping Flood Victims

    Canada May Need Additional Carbon Taxes To Meet Its Paris Targets, PBO Says

    Canada May Need Additional Carbon Taxes To Meet Its Paris Targets, PBO Says
    Canada's price on carbon will have to be five times what it is now if the country is to reach its Paris Agreement greenhouse-gas emissions targets just by charging for those emissions, Parliament's budget watchdog says.    

    Canada May Need Additional Carbon Taxes To Meet Its Paris Targets, PBO Says

    House Of Commons Unanimously Adopts New Parental-Leave Policy For MPs

    House Of Commons Unanimously Adopts New Parental-Leave Policy For MPs
    For the first time ever, members of Parliament will have the right to take parental leave from their jobs on Parliament Hill when they have or adopt a new baby.

    House Of Commons Unanimously Adopts New Parental-Leave Policy For MPs

    'Love Wins:' How N.S. Town Collaborated To Protect Kidnapped Women In Africa

    Simple signs with a pair of blue hearts capture a small town's sentiments over the rescue of two young Maritime women from kidnappers in Ghana.

    'Love Wins:' How N.S. Town Collaborated To Protect Kidnapped Women In Africa