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Manza v. R.

[1981] 2 SCR 131 Court SCC Decision date 1981-11-09 English

PartiesTulio Manza (Plaintiff) Appellant·Her Majesty The Queen (Defendant) Respondent

Counsel (4)
Claude Thomson, Q.C., and J.S. Leon, for the appellant.
Douglas Rutherford, Q.C., and Michael R. Dambrot, for the respondent.
Solicitors for the appellant: Campbell, Godfrey & Lewtas, Toronto.
Solicitor for the respondent: R. Tassé, Ottawa.

Judges Laskin, Bora; Ritchie, Roland Almon; Dickson, Robert George Brian; Beetz, Jean; Estey, Willard Zebedee; McIntyre, William Rogers; Lamer, Antonio

Delivered by Majority

On appeal from Ontario

Subjects Criminal law

Contents

The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by

THE CHIEF JUSTICE—The sole issue raised in this case is whether the reasons of the trial judge, sitting alone on a drug trafficking charge, were adequate to support the conviction or whether there was a reversible error in his failure to advert to the danger of acting on accomplice evidence unless corroborated. Counsel for the appellant concedes that if the evidence of the accomplice is accepted the conviction was properly entered.
We are of the opinion that the trial judge’s reasons, read in the light of the argument of counsel the day before on the very point in issue, were sufficient to support the conviction, especially having regard to his acceptance of the evidence of the accomplice, of which there was, in fact, corroboration.
[Page 132]
The appeal accordingly fails and must be dismissed.
Judgment accordingly.
Solicitors for the appellant: Campbell, Godfrey & Lewtas, Toronto.
Solicitor for the respondent: R. Tassé, Ottawa.