Supreme Court hears ex-Shilo soldier’s appeal

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This article was published 26/03/2019 (2428 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court heard Tuesday a former Manitoba soldier’s appeal of his firearms charges, in a case that could overhaul Canada’s military court-martial system.

The case stems from a non-lethal shooting seven years ago.

A court martial convicted Master Cpl. C.J. Stillman to six years in prison after an incident at a home at CFB Shilo in July 2012. He was 40 at the time, with roughly 15 years of military service.

After a night of drinking with fellow soldiers at the mess hall, Stillman went to the victim’s house on the base to have more drinks.

At one point, the two got in a fight and Stillman left the house. According to court records, “Stillman’s face was bloody and bruised.”

He returned at about 6 a.m. with a pistol, the military court heard, and shot one round through the victim’s left thigh and calf. He also shot toward a second person, who was not hit. The pistol was a handgun Stillman had permission to use only in Alberta.

Stillman was sentenced to six years in prison on five firearms charges that align with Criminal Code offences. The sentencing judge noted Stillman, who had been deployed once in Bosnia and twice in Afghanistan, had “emotional and psychological difficulties that contributed” to his actions.

Had Stillman not been a soldier, he likely would have been tried by a jury, which was part of Stillman’s grounds for appeal but rejected by a military appeal judge.

A more recent Quebec case raised similar issues. Master Cpl. Raphael Beaudry was accused of sexual assault causing bodily harm in December 2014; a court martial denied him a jury trial and convicted him.

But last fall, the military appeals court ruled soldiers had a charter right to have trials involving serious crimes heard by a jury, which would require civilian courts to take on military cases involving murder or sexual assault.

Legal experts expect a decision in the coming weeks, which they say could see the existing practice upheld, or dozens of military cases moved into provincial courts or perhaps an order to create a jury system within the military court system.

In filings, the military argued it should have grounds to prosecute such cases, in part because it can sanction soldiers through services offences that still lead to a criminal record, instead of the more complex requirements of criminal charges.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca