Backgrounder

STEVEN TRUSCOTT WRONGFUL CONVICTION APPLICATION

Ministerial Authority

The Minister's power to review convictions is set out in sections 696.1 – 696.6 of the Criminal Code .

In the final stage of the conviction review process, the Minister of Justice reviews the investigation report, along with the legal advice from the investigating lawyer or agent and the materials submitted by the applicant. The Minister also carefully considers the opinion of his Special Advisor, Mr. Bernard Grenier. The Special Advisor oversees the review of an application made under s.696.1 and advises the Minister of Justice directly on matters related to the criminal conviction review process.

When making a decision on a wrongful conviction application, the Minister has three options. He can:

• refer the case to the Court of Appeal
• order a new trial
• dismiss the application

The Minister cannot issue a pardon or overturn a conviction. Nor can he decide guilt or innocence – that is within the Court's authority.

For more information concerning the criminal conviction review process, please consult “Applications for Ministerial Review – Miscarriages of Justice Annual Report 2004” available on the Department of Justice Canada website: http://www.canada.justice.gc.ca .

Case History

On September 30, 1959 , 14-year-old Steven Murray Truscott was convicted of the murder of 12-year-old Lynne Harper. He was sentenced to death as required by law at the time. On January 21, 1960 , the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed his conviction appeal. On the same date his death sentence was commuted to one of life imprisonment. An application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed on February 24, 1960 .

On April 26, 1966 , Mr. Truscott's case was referred to the Supreme Court of Canada. In an eight-to-one decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the conviction should be upheld on the basis that the conduct of the trial was fair and legal. Steven Truscott was imprisoned for ten years; 1959 – 1969.

On November 29, 2001 , the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC), an advocacy group for the wrongly convicted, filed a section 690 Criminal Code application (currently section 696.1) on behalf of Mr. Truscott.

The grounds advanced in support of the application are new documents, including police and Crown briefs, and notes of the police investigation, that were not disclosed to the defence at trial or at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Having conducted an initial assessment, the Department of Justice Canada recommended that an outside agent be retained to assist in the review of Mr. Truscott's application. On January 24, 2002 , former Justice Minister Martin Cauchon selected the Honourable Fred Kaufman to assist in the review.

On April 20, 2004 , Justice Kaufman delivered an investigation report and thousands of pages of appendices to the Minister regarding the Truscott application.

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Department of Justice Canada
October 2004