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The Court of Appeal of Alberta Criminal Appeal Rules (SI/2018-34)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2018-08-01. Previous Versions

PART 16Criminal Appeal RulesThese Rules are made by the Court of Appeal pursuant to section 482 of the Criminal Code, and are included with the civil rules for convenience. (continued)

DIVISION 3Appeal Documents (continued)

Marginal note:Contents of Appeal Record - sentence appeals

 The Appeal Record for sentence appeals must contain the following:

  • (a) A table of contents as required by paragraph 16.13(a),

  • (b) Part 1 - Pleadings, consisting of the Information, Indictment or other originating document, and endorsements,

  • (c) Part 2 - Final Documents, which must include

    • (i) any written or transcribed reasons for conviction, and the reasons for the sentence,

    • (ii) any formal record of the decision, including the certificate of conviction, report of criminal trial, or report of criminal appeal, and any resulting orders, prohibitions, authorizations or warrants arising from the sentencing,

    • (iii) the notice of appeal,

    • (iv) any Notice of Variation of Sentence in Form CRA-D, and

    • (v) any restricted court access order.

  • (d) Part 3 - Transcripts, which must include:

    • (i) a table of contents as required by subparagraph 16.13(d)(i),

    • (ii) the plea and particulars, and any oral evidence given at the sentencing, and

    • (iii) speaking to sentence,

      • (A) in the case of a guilty plea, from the time of the plea, and

      • (B) in other cases, from the time of conviction.

Marginal note:Format of Appeal Record

  •  (1) The Appeal Record in criminal appeals must comply with rule 16.37 (Requirements for all documents) and

    • (a) be printed single-sided and bound together along the right edge of the page so that the printed text is to the left of the binding,

    • (b) number the Pleadings starting with page P1, and the Final Documents with page F1,

    • (c) have red cardstock covers, front and back, and

    • (d) be divided into numbered volumes of approximately 200 pages each.

  • (2) The Transcripts must

    • (a) be prepared by an official court reporter or be in a format satisfactory to the Registrar,

    • (b) be prepared in an electronic format approved by the Registrar and uploaded before the paper copy is filed,

    • (c) be paginated and printed double-sided,

    • (d) have grey cardstock covers, front and back, and

    • (e) be divided into numbered volumes of approximately 200 pages each.

  • (3) With the consent of all parties, or by order, an Appeal Record may be completed in an electronic format approved by the Registrar.

  • (4) A case management officer may set or vary the contents or format of the Appeal Record as the nature of the appeal requires, including giving direction respecting transcripts.

    Information note

    If any document required to be included in the Appeal Record is not available at the time of preparation, it can be appended to the factum, the Extracts of Key Evidence, or the Book of Authorities: subrule 16.19(5).

Marginal note:Factums in criminal appeals

  •  (1) The appellant must file 5 copies of an appellant’s factum that meets the requirements of rule 16.17 [Contents of factums], rule 16.18 [Format of factums] and rule 16.37 [Requirements for all documents].

  • (2) The appellant’s factum must be filed and served as follows:

    • (a) for a conviction appeal, before the earlier of

      • (i) 2 months after the filing of the Appeal Record, and

      • (ii) 6 months after the filing of the notice of appeal;

    • (b) for an appeal of sentence only, before the earlier of

      • (i) 2 months after the filing of the Appeal Record, and

      • (ii) 4 months after the filing of the notice of appeal;

    • (c) for the sentencing part of any appeal as to both conviction and sentence, no later than 3 months after the conviction appeal was dismissed, struck or abandoned.

  • (3) If the appellant’s factum is not filed and served by the applicable deadline, and an extension is not obtained,

    • (a) if the appellant is a self-represented appellant and is in custody, the Registrar may refer the appeal to a single appeal judge for directions, and

    • (b) in all other cases, the appeal will be struck by the Registrar.

  • (4) The respondent must file and serve 5 copies of a respondent’s factum that meets the requirements of rule 16.17 [Contents of factums], rule 16.18 [Format of factums] and rule 16.37 [Requirements for all documents], or a letter of intention not to file a factum

    • (a) for any conviction appeal, no later than 2 months after service of the appellant’s factum.

    • (b) for any sentence appeal, before the earlier of

      • (i) 1 month after service of the appellant’s factum, and

      • (ii) 10 days before the opening day of the sitting at which the appeal is to be heard.

  • (5) A respondent that does not file a factum is not permitted to present oral argument unless the panel of the Court hearing the appeal orders otherwise.

Marginal note:Contents of factums

  •  (1) A factum must include the following:

    • (a) a table of contents, including page numbers;

    • (b) Part 1 – Facts: in the appellant’s factum, a statement of facts (including, if desired, a concise introductory statement of the legal issues raised), and in the respondent’s factum, its position on the facts as stated by the appellant, and any other facts considered relevant;

    • (c) Part 2 – Grounds of Appeal: in the appellant’s factum, a concise statement of the grounds for appeal, and in the respondent’s factum, its position in regards to the stated grounds, and any other points that may properly be put in issue;

    • (d) Part 3 – Standard of Review: a statement on the relevant standard of review;

    • (e) Part 4 – Argument: a discussion addressing the questions of law or fact raised by the appeal;

    • (f) Part 5 – Relief Sought: a statement of the relief sought;

    • (g) the estimated time required for the oral argument, not exceeding 45 minutes for each separately represented party in the appeal;

    • (h) Table of Authorities: a list of the legal authorities referred to in the factum,

      • (i) listing separately each authority, and

      • (ii) providing any neutral citation assigned to the authority by the court that decided it, and at least one print citation where available;

    • (i) an Appendix containing extracts from any enactment or rule necessary for the disposition of the appeal, unless they are reproduced elsewhere in the materials to be filed.

  • (2) A factum in a sentence appeal must include a Sentence Appeal Questionnaire in Form CRA-E immediately following the table of contents

    • (a) in the appellant’s sentence factum, or

    • (b) where the appellant is a self-represented appellant and that party’s factum does not include the Sentence Appeal Questionnaire, in the respondent’s sentence factum.

  • (3) A case management officer may vary the format requirements of or dispense with the preparation of a factum.

    Information note

    Rule 16.37 [Requirements for all documents] contains format requirements for all documents. Rule 16.37(1)(f) permits attaching authorities and Extracts of Key Evidence to the factum if they are not bulky.

Marginal note:Format of factums

  •  (1) Factums must be

    • (a) formatted using at least 12 point font, one-inch margins and at least 1.5 line spacing, except for quotations, and

    • (b) be printed single-sided and bound together along the right hand edge of the page so that the printed text is to the left of the binding.

  • (2) Parts 1 to 5 of a factum must not exceed 30 pages in length for each separately represented party or intervenor.

  • (3) Factums must contain precise references to the location, page numbers and paragraph numbers or lines of the Appeal Record, Extracts of Key Evidence and authorities referred to.

  • (4) Each factum must have cardstock covers, front and back, prepared as required by rule 16.37 [Requirements for all documents], in the following colours:

    • (a) appellants – beige or ivory;

    • (b) respondents – green;

    • (c) intervenors – blue.

Marginal note:Other appeal documents

  •  (1) Where needed to resolve the issues in the appeal, each party must file Extracts of Key Evidence

    • (a) containing extracts of the transcripts, exhibits and other material on the record needed to resolve the issues in the appeal,

    • (b) excluding any evidence, exhibits and other materials unlikely to be needed, and

    • (c) not containing any comment, argument, trial briefs, legal authorities or new evidence.

  • (2) Extracts of Key Evidence must be prepared as required by rule 16.37 [Requirements for all documents] and

    • (a) have a table of contents at the beginning of every volume, listing separately each document, including each exhibit to any affidavit, and showing the page number where the document can be found;

    • (b) be numbered sequentially throughout, commencing with

      • (i) page A1 for the appellant’s Extracts of Key Evidence,

      • (ii) page R1 for the respondent’s Extracts of Key Evidence, and

      • (iii) page I1 for the intervenor’s Extracts of Key Evidence;

    • (c) have cardstock covers, front and back, in the following colours:

      • (i) appellants – yellow;

      • (ii) respondents – pink;

      • (iii) intervenors – blue.

  • (3) Each party to any appeal shall prepare, if necessary, a Book of Authorities

    • (a) containing extracts of any enactments or bylaws necessary for deciding the appeal,

    • (b) including the headnote and relevant pages (or, only when appropriate, the entirety) of any authority likely to be referred to during oral argument or essential to the disposition of the appeal, and

    • (c) excluding well-known authorities, authorities of secondary importance and other non-essential authorities not likely to be referred to during oral argument.

  • (4) Books of Authorities must be prepared as required by rule 16.37 [Requirements for all documents] and

    • (a) have a comprehensive Table of Authorities as required by subparagraph 16.17(1)(h), reproduced at the beginning of every volume,

    • (b) separate or identify each authority, by tabs or otherwise, and highlight or otherwise identify in legible form the key passages in the authority to be relied on,

    • (c) where the authority has been reproduced from an electronic source, contain paragraph or page numbers from an official or printed source, or otherwise identify the various parts of the authority, and

    • (d) have cardstock covers, front and back, in the same colour as the party’s factum.

  • (5) If any document required by rule 16.13 [Contents of Appeal Record – conviction appeals] or 16.14 [Contents of Appeal Record – sentence appeals] is not available at the time of preparation of the Appeal Record, a copy must be included in the Extracts of Key Evidence or appended to the factum.

  • (6) A party preparing Extracts of Key Evidence or Books of Authorities must file 5 copies with the Registrar, when or before filing that party’s factum, and must file and serve one additional copy on every other party to the appeal.

  • (7) The clerk of a trial court must, on request of the Attorney General or counsel for the Attorney General, supply certified copies of any exhibits or records in the clerk’s possession that are required for an appeal.

  • (8) On request of the Court, the trial judge must provide a report on any matter related to the case.

DIVISION 4Scheduling Oral Argument

Marginal note:Scheduling conviction appeals

  •  (1) Subject to any enactment, no later than 20 days after the deadline for the filing of the last factum in any conviction appeal,

    • (a) the parties must contact the Registrar to schedule the oral hearing, and

    • (b) the Registrar must, after consulting with the parties, schedule the appeal at a suitable time on the Criminal Appeal Hearing List.

  • (2) A case management officer may at any time place any conviction appeal on the Unscheduled Criminal Appeals List.

  • (3) All the parties to each appeal on the Unscheduled Criminal Appeals List must appear at the time scheduled for the calling of the List, and

    • (a) unless adjourned, appeals on the Unscheduled Criminal Appeals List will be scheduled for oral hearing and placed on the Criminal Appeal Hearing List, or

    • (b) directions may be given for advancing the appeal.

  • (4) If the appellant in an appeal referred to in subrule (3) does not appear at the time scheduled for the calling of the List, the appeal may be struck.

    Information Note

    Section 672.72(3) of the Criminal Code provides that appeals from dispositions (after findings of not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder) are to be expedited. Sections 51(1) and 57(5) of the Extradition Act require that appeals be heard at an early date.

    The procedure for speaking to the Unscheduled Criminal Appeals List is set out in the Consolidated Practice Directions.

Marginal note:Unscheduled conviction appeals

 If oral argument of a conviction appeal is not scheduled within 9 months of the filing of the notice of appeal, and no extension or direction has been received from a case management officer

  • (a) if the appellant is represented by counsel, the appeal will be struck by the Registrar, and

  • (b) if the appellant is a self-represented appellant, the Registrar will schedule the appeal for oral argument.

Marginal note:Scheduling sentence appeals

  •  (1) Subject to the direction of a case management officer, 20 days before the opening day of each scheduled sitting for sentence appeals the Registrar will set down at that sitting every sentence appeal where

    • (a) the appeal record and appellant’s factum have been filed,

    • (b) the appeal record has been filed in a sentence appeal started by a self-represented appellant,

    • (c) the appeal record has not been ordered in a sentence appeal started by a self-represented appellant who is in custody, or

    • (d) the net sentence is 6 months or less, the appellant is in custody, and judicial interim release has not been granted.

  • (2) The Registrar must advise any self-represented party of the scheduled date of the sentence appeal.

  • (3) Unless otherwise ordered, the sentence appeal must proceed in accordance with the deadlines in this Part, notwithstanding that an appeal of the conviction appeal decision or an application for leave to appeal the conviction appeal decision has been filed with the Supreme Court of Canada.

    Information Note

    Sentence appeals are heard every month in Edmonton and Calgary, except in July and August. Parties who wish to schedule matters (such as appeals of sentences of short duration) during the sittings in July should contact a case management officer for advice.

    A case management officer can defer oral argument on sentence appeals where a self-represented party is awaiting confirmation of Legal Aid coverage, where a selfrepresented party intends to file a factum, or where other circumstances make the default scheduling rules inappropriate.

 

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