Court of Appeal

CASE NO.                                                  VOLUME                                                          PAGE

Cite as: R. v. Hall, 1998 NSCA 90

ANDREW ROY HALL                                                                   HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

                                                                         - and -

(Appellant)                                                                                                                  (Respondent)

C.A.C. No. 140778                                  Halifax, N.S.                                       FREEMAN, J.A.

                                                                                                                               (orally)

APPEAL HEARD:                                        March 19, 1998

JUDGMENT DELIVERED:              March 19, 1998

WRITTEN RELEASE OF ORAL:                March 23, 1998

SUBJECT:      Criminal Law; Assault Causing Bodily Harm, Identification, Sentencing.

SUMMARY:     The appellant and two companions were involved in an early morning fight on Barrington Street in Halifax with a group of three young men, one of whom was punched and kicked, suffering bruises, abrasions and a broken nose. The appellant was convicted of assault causing bodily harm contrary to s. 267(1)(b) of the Criminal Code  and sentenced to nine months incarceration plus two years probation. He appealed from the conviction alleging flaws in the identification evidence and sought leave to appeal the  sentence on the ground that the it was excessive taking into account five months spent on remand awaiting trial. The appellant had a criminal record including a conviction for armed robbery. He did not testify at the trial.

ISSUES:            Did the trial judge err in convicting the appellant on the identification

evidence before him; was the sentence excessive.

RESULT:          Appeal from conviction dismissed; leave to appeal sentence denied.  The trial judge was aware of weaknesses in the identification evidence and his verdict was reasonable.  The sentence was in an appropriate range.