R. v. Milne, (1981) 7 Man.R.(2d) 173 (CoCt)

• Court: Provincial Court of Manitoba (Canada)
• Case Date: April 09, 1981
• Jurisdiction: Manitoba
• Citations: (1981), 7 Man.R.(2d) 173 (CoCt)

R. v. Milne (1981), 7 Man.R.(2d) 173 (CoCt)

MLB headnote and full text

R. v. Milne

Indexed As: R. v. Milne

Manitoba County Court

Judges Criminal Court

Eastern Judicial District

Jewers, C.C.J.

April 9, 1981.

Summary:

This case arose out of a charge of unlawfully having possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace contrary to s. 85 of the Criminal Code.

The Manitoba County Court convicted the accused.

Criminal Law - Topic 1153

Offensive weapons - Weapon possessed for a dangerous purpose - What constitutes - The police were called to the accused's home - Outside the home the police overheard the accused's wife telling him to put the gun down - The accused told the police his rifle could shoot through the house walls, but the safety was on - The police persuaded the accused to let his wife go - The police talked for four hours before the accused gave himself up and the police found the rifle - The Manitoba County Court held that the accused possessed a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace.

Criminal Law - Topic 5332

Evidence and witnesses - Confessions and voluntary statements - Voir dire - Necessity and purpose of - The Manitoba County Court stated that all statements made by an accused to persons in authority must be shown to be voluntary before being admitted into evidence, but that it is not necessary to have a voir dire in every case to establish voluntariness - See paragraph 13.

Criminal Law - Topic 5355

Evidence and witnesses - Confessions and voluntary statements - Whether statement was made freely and voluntarily - An accused, from inside his home, told the police he had a gun, that the safety was on and that the gun could shoot through the walls of the house - The Manitoba County Court held that the accused's statements were voluntary, because he was not in custody nor under pressure from the police and that he was in a dominant position, holding his wife as a hostage - See paragraph 14.

Evidence - Topic 1721

Hearsay rule - Res gestae - Utterances as part of the issue or event - Accused's statements - An accused, from inside his home, told the police he had a gun, that the safety was on and that the gun could shoot through the walls of the house - The Manitoba County Court held that the accused's statements were admissible in evidence without a voir dire, because there was no evidence that the statements were not voluntary and they were part of the res gestae - See paragraph 14.

Evidence - Topic 1722

Hearsay rule - Res gestae - Utterances as part of the issue or event - Statement of victim - From outside the accused's home, the police heard the accused's wife telling him to put down the gun - The accused was holding his wife as hostage - At trial the police told what the wife said - The Manitoba County Court held that, although evidence of the wife's statement was hearsay, it was admissible because it was part of the res gestae - See paragraph 11.

Words and Phrases

Puplic peace - The Manitoba County Court discussed the meaning of the words "public peace" in s. 85 of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1970, c. C-34.

Cases Noticed:

R. v. Erven (1979), 25 N.R. 49; 30 N.S.R.(2d) 89; 49 A.P.R. 89; 6 C.R.(3rd) 97, folld. [para. 13].

R. v. Badenoch (1968), 4 C.R.N.S. 293, refd to. [para. 22].

R. v. Magee, [1923] 3 W.W.R. 55, consd. [para. 22].

Statutes Noticed:

Criminal Code of Canada, R.S.C. 1970, c. C-34, sect. 85 [para. 1].

Authors and Works Noticed:

McWilliams, Canadian Criminal Evidence, pp. 126-134 [para. 11].

Counsel:

B. Kaplan, for the Crown;

J. Radford, for the accused.

This case was heard by JEWERS, C.C.J., of the Manitoba County Court Judges Criminal Court, Eastern Judicial District, who on April 9, 1981, delivered the following judgment: