"If
the New Brunswick Court of Appeal panel hearing Dennis Oland's murder
conviction appeal is unable to reach a unanimous decision, the
losing party has an automatic right to take the case to the Supreme
Court of Canada. Normally, the country's highest court must first agree to hear a case, known as leave to appeal. The
Supreme Court receives about 600 such applications each year. Only
about 80 are granted — usually cases that involve a question of public
importance. But there is an automatic right of appeal in
criminal cases when one judge in the provincial court of appeal dissents
on a question of law. A three-member panel is handling Oland's
appeal. Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau, Margaret Larlee and Kathleen
Quigg hope to deliver their decision on Monday at 11 a.m. AT., Drapeau
said on Thursday, following a three-day hearing.........Oland's
Much of the three-day hearing focused on Oland's incorrect statement to Saint John police about what he was wearing when he visited his father at his Far End Corporation investment office on July 6, 2011, the night police believe the murder occurred. Oland told police he was wearing a navy blazer, but video surveillance and witness testimony showed he was actually wearing a brown sports jacket, which was later found to have four small bloodstains on it and DNA matching his father's profile. During the trial, the Crown portrayed Oland's false statement as "post-offence conduct;" a "lie" intended to mislead police. The defence, however, maintains it was an "innocent mistake," as Oland testified, and there was no independent evidence to prove otherwise. They contend the trial judge, Justice John Walsh, should have instructed the jury to ignore the "erroneous statement" because there was "no reasonable inference of guilt" unless the jurors fell into "circular reasoning" and "guilt was first assumed.".........The body of Richard Oland, 69, was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood in his Saint John investment office. He had suffered 45 blunt and sharp-force injuries to his head, neck and hands. His son, Dennis Oland, was the last known person to see him alive. Oland is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 10 years."
Much of the three-day hearing focused on Oland's incorrect statement to Saint John police about what he was wearing when he visited his father at his Far End Corporation investment office on July 6, 2011, the night police believe the murder occurred. Oland told police he was wearing a navy blazer, but video surveillance and witness testimony showed he was actually wearing a brown sports jacket, which was later found to have four small bloodstains on it and DNA matching his father's profile. During the trial, the Crown portrayed Oland's false statement as "post-offence conduct;" a "lie" intended to mislead police. The defence, however, maintains it was an "innocent mistake," as Oland testified, and there was no independent evidence to prove otherwise. They contend the trial judge, Justice John Walsh, should have instructed the jury to ignore the "erroneous statement" because there was "no reasonable inference of guilt" unless the jurors fell into "circular reasoning" and "guilt was first assumed.".........The body of Richard Oland, 69, was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood in his Saint John investment office. He had suffered 45 blunt and sharp-force injuries to his head, neck and hands. His son, Dennis Oland, was the last known person to see him alive. Oland is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 10 years."
