The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal by the Saskatchewan Crown to overturn the acquittal of a northern Saskatchewan woman who gave birth in a Walmart bathroom and left the newborn in a toilet.
April Halkett was found not guilty in June 2009 of abandoning the baby in the store in Prince Albert.
But the Crown disagreed with the verdict and took the case to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, which upheld the findings of a trial judge.
Justice Neil Gabrielson said he believed Halkett’s testimony that she didn’t know she was pregnant and left the store because she thought the child was dead.
Lawyers for Saskatchewan Justice argued before the province’s highest court that the mother had a duty to take reasonable steps to determine if her baby — now in foster care — was alive.
The Crown pointed out that the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal was, at that point, the highest court in Canada to hear the case, and its decision has created a legal question that is national in scope.
(courtesy of The Canadian Press)