R. v. Mufuta (M.), 2015 ONCA 50
| Judge | Strathy, C.J.O., Cronk and Hourigan, JJ.A. |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Ontario) |
| Case Date | January 28, 2015 |
| Jurisdiction | Ontario |
| Citations | 2015 ONCA 50;(2015), 329 O.A.C. 237 (CA) |
R. v. Mufuta (M.) (2015), 329 O.A.C. 237 (CA)
MLB headnote and full text
Temp. Cite: [2015] O.A.C. TBEd. JA.034
Her Majesty the Queen (respondent) v. Muamba Mufuta (appellant)
(C54811; 2015 ONCA 50)
Indexed As: R. v. Mufuta (M.)
Ontario Court of Appeal
Strathy, C.J.O., Cronk and Hourigan, JJ.A.
January 28, 2015.
Summary:
The accused appealed his voyeurism conviction on the ground that the verdict was unreasonable.
The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Criminal Law - Topic 4865
Appeals - Indictable offences - Grounds of appeal - Verdict unreasonable or unsupported by evidence - A black man peered over the top of one of the stalls in a restaurant's women's washroom - Restaurant surveillance footage showed three black men entering the restaurant before the incident - One black man entered the women's washroom - The victim entered shortly thereafter, noticed the peering man, screamed and fled - The black man exited the washroom after the victim and the three black men left the restaurant - The police arrived and secured the washroom - An unfinished pop bottle, left in the stall the black man peered from, contained the accused's DNA on the mouth of the bottle - No other DNA was found - There was no evidence that someone else had handled the bottle or left it in the stall - The accused, a black man, could not be positively identified by the victim or from the surveillance footage, but he did fit the general description - As the washroom was cleaned every night, the pop bottle had to have been left in the stall on the day of, and prior to, the offence - The Ontario Court of Appeal affirmed the accused's voyeurism conviction as reasonably supported by the evidence - The court stated that "On the totality of the evidence in this case, there is no evidentiary foundation for any explanation of the presence of a partially-consumed pop bottle, bearing the [accused's] DNA, in the exact washroom stall used by the perpetrator, other than that the [accused] was the voyeur." - See paragraphs 1 to 47.
Criminal Law - Topic 5320.2
Evidence and witnesses - Inferences - From circumstantial evidence - [See Criminal Law - Topic 4865 ].
Cases Noticed:
R. v. Biniaris (J.), [2000] 1 S.C.R. 381; 252 N.R. 204; 134 B.C.A.C. 161; 219 W.A.C. 161; 2000 SCC 15, refd to. [para. 15].
R. v. Sinclair (T.), [2011] 3 S.C.R. 3; 418 N.R. 282; 268 Man.R.(2d) 225; 520 W.A.C. 225; 2011 SCC 40, refd to. [para. 16].
R. v. D.D.T. (2009), 257 O.A.C. 258; 2009 ONCA 918, refd to. [para. 16].
R. v. Beaudry (A.), [2007] 1 S.C.R. 190; 356 N.R. 323; 2007 SCC 5, refd to. [para. 17].
R. v. R.P., [2012] 1 S.C.R. 746; 429 N.R. 361; 2012 SCC 22, refd to. [para. 17].
R. v. Mars (M.) (2006), 206 O.A.C. 387; 205 C.C.C.(3d) 376 (C.A.), dist. [para. 21].
R. v. Wills (B.) (2014), 318 O.A.C. 99; 308 C.C.C.(3d) 109; 2014 ONCA 178, dist. [para. 21].
R. v. Dewar (W.), [2003] O.A.C. Uned. 410; 2003 CanLII 48229 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 43].
R. v. Gauthier (R.J.) (2009), 264 B.C.A.C. 298; 445 W.A.C. 298; 2009 BCCA 24, refd to. [para. 43].
R. v. Cooper, [1978] 1 S.C.R. 860; 14 N.R. 181, refd to. [para. 49].
Counsel:
Ian Carter, for the appellant;
Kevin Rawluk, for the respondent.
This appeal was heard on October 24, 2014, before Strathy, C.J.O., Cronk and Hourigan, JJ.A., of the Ontario Court of Appeal.
On January 28, 2015, Cronk, J.A., released the following judgment for the Court.
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Table of Cases
...2013 BCSC 2398 .................................................................................................... 180 R. v. Mufuta, 2015 ONCA 50 .................................................................................................431, 432 R. v. Mullins-Johnson, 1996 CanLII 121......
-
Forensic Biology and DNA
...R. v. Wills , 2014 SCC 73. The majority, in a 3:2 split, dismissed the appeal for the reasons set out by Doherty J.A. 230 R. v. Mufuta , 2015 ONCA 50 [ Mufuta ]. 231 Ibid. at para. 7. 232 Ibid. at para. 10. 233 Ibid. at paras. 10 and 13. 234 Ibid. at para. 14. 235 Ibid. at paras. 42 and 50.......
-
R. v. Awad, 2018 ONSC 4901
...such explanations, as may be pointed to, amount to nothing more than speculation, conjecture or irrational inferences: R. v. Mufuta, 2015 ONCA 50, at paras. 22, 26, 47-9; Griffin, at para 35; R. v. C.(D.) (2012), 290 C.C.C. (3d) 64 (S.C.C.), at paras. 25, 28; R. v. Figueroa (2008), 232 C.C.......
-
R. v. Bryan, 2017 ONSC 2244
...to nothing more than speculation, conjecture or irrational inferences: R. v. Fraser, 2016 BCCA 89 (B.C. C.A.), at para. 73; R. v. Mufuta, 2015 ONCA 50 (Ont. C.A.), at paras. 22, 26, 47-9; Griffin, at para 35; R. c. C. (D.) (2012), 290 C.C.C. (3d) 64 (S.C.C.), at paras. 25, 28; R. v. Figuero......
-
R. v. Awad, 2018 ONSC 4901
...such explanations, as may be pointed to, amount to nothing more than speculation, conjecture or irrational inferences: R. v. Mufuta, 2015 ONCA 50, at paras. 22, 26, 47-9; Griffin, at para 35; R. v. C.(D.) (2012), 290 C.C.C. (3d) 64 (S.C.C.), at paras. 25, 28; R. v. Figueroa (2008), 232 C.C.......
-
R. v. Bryan, 2017 ONSC 2244
...to nothing more than speculation, conjecture or irrational inferences: R. v. Fraser, 2016 BCCA 89 (B.C. C.A.), at para. 73; R. v. Mufuta, 2015 ONCA 50 (Ont. C.A.), at paras. 22, 26, 47-9; Griffin, at para 35; R. c. C. (D.) (2012), 290 C.C.C. (3d) 64 (S.C.C.), at paras. 25, 28; R. v. Figuero......
-
R v Tibbits, 2018 ABQB 902
...v Lifchus, [1997] 2 SCR 320 at para 31; (e) an accused bears no burden of providing an explanation for the events in question: R v Mufuta, 2015 ONCA 50 at para (f) a reasonable doubt may be derived from the evidence or the absence of evidence: Lifchus at para 36, R v Balla, 2016 ABCA 212 at......
-
R. v. Sylliboy,
...is permitted to weigh those and in doing so is not placing an evidentiary burden on the Defence which does not exist: see R. v. Mufuta, 2015 ONCA 50. [124] The possibility that an unidentified passenger was in the back seat of the Grace Scott vehicle was raised. I dismiss ......
-
Table of Cases
...2013 BCSC 2398 .................................................................................................... 180 R. v. Mufuta, 2015 ONCA 50 .................................................................................................431, 432 R. v. Mullins-Johnson, 1996 CanLII 121......
-
Forensic Biology and DNA
...R. v. Wills , 2014 SCC 73. The majority, in a 3:2 split, dismissed the appeal for the reasons set out by Doherty J.A. 230 R. v. Mufuta , 2015 ONCA 50 [ Mufuta ]. 231 Ibid. at para. 7. 232 Ibid. at para. 10. 233 Ibid. at paras. 10 and 13. 234 Ibid. at para. 14. 235 Ibid. at paras. 42 and 50.......