Case commentary and full decision reading of the Ontario Court of Appeals decisions in R. v. Zhou, 2024 ONCA 658 and R. v. Vassel, 2024 ONCA 666 released on September 6, 2024.

In R. v. Zhou, 2024 ONCA 658, Biao Zhou, who represented himself at trial, was convicted of sexual assault and forcible confinement in connection with an incident in January 2016 involving a university student who had rented a room from him. Zhou maintained that the sexual contact was consensual, while the complainant alleged that he assaulted her. The complainant's account included an unwanted sexual act that resulted in her purchasing a Plan B pill afterward. Zhou's defense centered on the claim that the interaction was consensual and that the complainant had misinterpreted his offer to give her an iPad as compensation for the assault. The jury ultimately found Zhou guilty.

On appeal, Zhou and his amicus curiae raised multiple grounds, including challenges to jury selection, claims of errors in the trial judge's instructions, and issues with the Crown's closing submissions. The Ontario Court of Appeal rejected these arguments, finding that any procedural errors, such as those related to peremptory challenges during jury selection, did not result in prejudice or compromise the fairness of the trial. The court upheld the conviction, ruling that the appellant had a fair trial before an independent and impartial jury, and that there were no reversible errors in the conduct of the trial.

In R. v. Vassel, 2024 ONCA 665, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal regarding convictions for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The appellant argued that the trial judge made errors in jury instructions and failed to ensure a fair trial. The Court of Appeal found no reversible errors, ruling that the jury had been properly instructed and the appellant's rights were upheld throughout the trial. The appeal was dismissed, and the original convictions were upheld.