User:Mr Serjeant Buzfuz/R v Riel
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| Riel v The Queen | |
|---|---|
 Louis Riel, Métis leader 1844 - 1885 | |
| Court | Judicial Committee of the Privy Council |
| Full case name | Louis Riel v The Queen |
| Decided | October 22, 1885 |
| Citation(s) | [1885] UKPC 37, 10 App. Cas. 657. |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | Trial of Louis Riel, Regina, North-West Territories; appeal to the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench in banc |
| Appealed from | The Queen v Riel (No. 2) (1885), 1 Terr LR 23, 2 Man R 321 .svg){kind=small} |
| Subsequent action(s) | Execution of Louis Riel, November 16, 1885, Regina, North-West Territories |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Lord Halsbury, Lord Chancellor Lord Fitzgerald Lord Monkswell Lord Hobhouse Lord Esher Sir Barnes Peacock |
| Case opinions | |
| Leave to appeal denied. | |
| Decision by | Lord Halsbury |
| Keywords | |
| Constitutional law; federal jurisdiction over the North-West Territories; Peace, order and good government; jury trials | |
Riel v The Queen is a court decision dealing with Canadian constitutional law and criminal law. The case concerned the validity of the trial of Louis Riel by a stipendiary magistrate, sitting with a jury of six, for the capital offence of high treason in the North-West Territories of Canada. One of the main issues was whether the federal Parliament had jurisdiction to vary the standard rules of criminal procedure as part of its jurisdiction to legislate for the Territories under the British North America Act, 1871 (now the Constitution Act, 1871). Another issue concerned the application of the M'Naghten rules and whether Riel should have been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
The jury convicted Riel on August 1, 1885 and the judge imposed the mandatory death sentence. Riel appealed his conviction to the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench in banc, which dismissed the appeal and upheld the conviction. Riel then applied for leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, at that time the court of last resort for Canada within the British Empire. The Judicial Committee denied leave, effectively upholding the decision of the Manitoba Queen's Bench. The Judicial Committee decision was one of the earliest cases interpreting the scope of the federal power over the Territories under the British North America Act, 1871.
Riel was hanged in Regina, North-West Territories, on November 16, 1885.
Facts of the case[edit]
The North-West Rebellion occurred in the winter and spring of 1885, in the North-West Territories. Louis Riel, who had led the Métis population in the Red River Rebellion fifteen years earlier, returned to Canada from the United States, where he had been in exile since 1875. Upon his return, he became one of the acknowledged leaders of the Métis in the North-West Territories. Their grievances included land security and lack of democratic institutions in the Territories.[1] Initial discussions with representatives of the territorial and federal governments did not lead to a resolution, and eventually the Métis and some First Nations took up arms. The Canadian government sent troops west, which culminated in a battle at Batoche, where the Métis forces were defeated in mid-May.
Trial[edit]
Following the defeat at Batoche, Riel surrendered himself to the government forces on May 15, 1885. Riel was then taken to Regina, the capital of the North-West Territories, where he was charged with six counts of high treason. He was tried by a stipendiary magistrate and a justice of the peace, with a six man jury. Defence counsel contested the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case, arguing that a stipendiary magistrate could not be given jurisdiction to hear capital crimes. They also contested the statutory provision for a six member jury, arguing that the English common law, in force in the Territories, required a twelve man jury. The stipendiary magistrate rejected these arguments and held that he had jurisdiction to try the case with a jury of six.
Another point in issue was Riel’s mental state. There was some evidence that he suffered from what in those days was called "religious megalomania", now more likely to be classified as a form of paranoia. Riel insisted that he was not insane, but his defence counsel led evidence to put in doubt his mental state. In his charge to the jury, the stipendiary magistrate instructed them in the M'Naghten rules for determining if an accused could be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
On August 1, 1885, the jury convicted Riel with a recommendation of mercy. The stipendiary magistrate nonetheless imposed the mandatory death sentence.
Appeals[edit]
Manitoba Queen's Bench[edit]
| The Queen v Riel | |
|---|---|
| Court | Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, In Banc |
| Decided | September 9, 1885 |
| Citation(s) | (1885), 1 Terr LR 23, 2 Man R 321 |
| Case history | |
| Appealed from | Stipendiary Magistrate, Regina, North-West Territories |
| Appealed to | Judicial Committee of the Privy Council |
| Subsequent action(s) | Leave to appeal denied |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Wallbridge CJM Taylor J Killam J |
| Case opinions | |
| Appeal dismissed; conviction upheld | |
| Decision by | Wallbridge CJM, Taylor J and Killam J, seriatim |
| Keywords | |
| Constitutional law; criminal law; federal jurisdiction over the North-West Territories; Peace, order and good government; jury trials; insanity defence | |
Riel's first appeal was to the Manitoba Queen's Bench, at that time the appeals court for the North-West Territories.
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council[edit]
Riel then applied for leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, at that time the highest court of appeal in the British Empire.