Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
41434
Buddy Ray Underwood v. His Majesty the King
(Alberta) (Criminal) (As of Right)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-08 | Appeal closed | |
| 2025-05-08 | Transcript received, 43 pages | |
| 2025-04-23 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2025-04-23 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2025-04-17 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, Ka Côt Row Mar Kas Ob Mor Dismissed |
|
| 2025-04-17 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2025-04-17, Ka Côt Row Mar Kas Ob Mor Decision rendered |
|
| 2025-04-14 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), (Printed version filed on 2025-04-14) | His Majesty the King |
| 2025-04-14 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), (Printed version due on 2025-04-23) | Buddy Ray Underwood |
| 2025-04-02 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, Letter of appearance by zoom | |
| 2025-04-02 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, Letter of appearance in person | |
| 2025-03-14 | Notice of appearance, Peter Sankoff and Elek Reitsma will appear before the court. Peter Sankoff will present the oral arguments. | Buddy Ray Underwood |
| 2025-03-13 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, Letter of direction | |
| 2025-03-12 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Matthew Griener will appear before the court. Matthew Griener will present oral arguments. Requested 2 reserved seats. , (Printed version due on 2025-03-19) | His Majesty the King |
| 2025-01-14 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2025-01-14 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2025-04-17 Decision rendered |
|
| 2025-01-10 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23B, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-13) | His Majesty the King |
| 2025-01-10 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23A, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-13) | His Majesty the King |
| 2025-01-10 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2025-01-13, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-13) | His Majesty the King |
| 2024-12-11 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2024-11-07 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), Form 24A, (Printed version filed on 2024-11-08) | Buddy Ray Underwood |
| 2024-11-07 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (3 volumes), Completed on: 2024-11-08, (Printed version filed on 2024-11-08) | Buddy Ray Underwood |
| 2024-11-07 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2024-11-08, (Printed version filed on 2024-11-08) | Buddy Ray Underwood |
| 2024-09-16 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal | |
| 2024-09-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), Form 23A, (Printed version filed on 2024-09-12) | His Majesty the King |
| 2024-09-12 |
Notice of appeal, Missing: -Amended notice of appeal, setting out the question of law (rec'd 2024-09-17), Completed on: 2024-09-20, (Printed version filed on 2024-09-12) |
Buddy Ray Underwood |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Underwood, Buddy Ray | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| His Majesty the King | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Underwood, Buddy Ray
Counsel
Elek Reitsma
Ritchie Mill
10171 Saskatchewan Dr NW #414
Edmonton, Alberta
T6E 4R5
Telephone: (780) 655-1611
Email: peter@sankoffcriminallaw.com
Agent
440 Laurier Ave. West
Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario
K1R 7X6
Telephone: (613) 691-1224
FAX: (613) 691-1338
Email: mdillon@supremelawgroup.ca
Party: His Majesty the King
Counsel
9833 – 109e rue
3e étage, Bowker Building
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2E8
Telephone: (780) 422-5402
FAX: (780) 422-1106
Email: matthew.griener@gov.ab.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
Summary
Keywords
Criminal law – Appeals – Murder – First degree murder – Elements of offence – Constructive first degree murder – Planning and deliberation – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in law in convicting the appellant of first degree murder by concluding that his actions satisfied the elements of s. 231(2) and (5)(e) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46.<br>
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
After a trial by judge alone, the appellant, Buddy Ray Underwood, was convicted of robbery, kidnapping, unlawful confinement and murder. The trial judge acquitted the appellant of first degree murder but entered a conviction for the included offence of second degree murder instead. The respondent Crown appealed the acquittal and the appellant cross-appealed the conviction.
The Court of Appeal unanimously allowed the Crown’s appeal, quashed the acquittal on first degree murder and substituted a conviction for first degree murder under ss. 231(2) and (5) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46. First, the court agreed with the Crown that the trial judge erred in law in his analysis of constructive first degree murder by narrowing the causation analysis to focus exclusively on the direct medical cause of death. Second, the court concluded that the trial judge erred in law by misapprehending the time frame for assessing planning as well as the meaning of “planned” more generally. The appellant’s cross-appeal, not at issue, was dismissed.
Lower court rulings
Court of King’s Bench of Alberta
Appellant acquitted of first degree murder and convicted of second degree murder
Respondent's appeal allowed, acquittal set aside and conviction for first degree murder entered
Appellant's cross-appeal dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available