PROCEDURE - Trial judge's duties - Assessing credibility of witnesses

Law360 Canada ( December 5, 2024, 12:30 PM EST) -- Appeal by Stevenson from a judgment of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal which upheld his convictions. Stevenson was convicted of the offences of robbery and having his face masked while committing an indictable offence. The incident was captured on video by security cameras. The video showed that the two participants’ faces were completely covered during the robbery. The sole issue at Stevenson's trial was identity and CS, a former gang associate of Stevenson, identified him as a participant in the robbery. CS's testimony was the only evidence that linked Stevenson to the offence. The trial judge found CS's evidence to be credible and reliable and, based on that, found Stevenson guilty. The majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal from conviction. Stevenson appealed. He argued that the trial judge erred in law in assessing the evidence of the Crown’s unsavoury witness....