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He then moved before the trial judge and asked for an order of:
1. The Crown call the witness.
2. The Court call the witness.
3. The crown disclose the contents of the statement to the defence.
"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice."
Brennan J. was the trial judge. She dismissed the defense counsel's application and ruled that the crown was under no obligation to call Lineham to the stand. They were also under no obligation to disclose the content of the statement.
The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed
Stinchcombe's appeal without any reasoning.
"Leave to appeal to this Court was granted on the disclosure issue."
Therefore the decision of the former trial was held. The defence's appeal to the SCC was allowed based on the issue of disclosure.
"The Crown has a legal duty to disclose all relevant information to the defence."
In this final decision, the court came to the realization that if this information had been disclosed the outcome could have been different and in favour of the accused.
William B. Stinchcombe was a Calgary lawyer. He was charged with appropriating certain financial instruments from one of his clients, Jack Abrams.
He was charged under s. 336, s.336 (a) and s. 380 (1) (a) of the Criminal Code.
The judge found that the Crown was not obliged to call Patricia Lineham to the stand or disclose the content of her statement to the defense. Therefore Stinchcombe was convicted of all the charges pressed against him.
"Whether the witness is credible is for the trial judge to determine after hearing the evidence."
A statement from Patricia Lineham, a former secretary of Stinchcombes, was taken and recorded by an RCMP officer. The crown counsel informed the defence of the statement's existence but not the content of the statement taken. A request for disclosure was refused by the trial judge.
THE END.
Day 3 of the trial, the defense counsel was informed that the witness would not be called to the stand by the Crown.