Law360 Canada ( July 3, 2026, 9:34 AM EDT) -- Appeal by the Crown against Herman’s acquittal of second-degree murder; appeal by Herman against his conviction and sentence for manslaughter. Herman was charged with the first-degree murder of the victim, who he was in an intimate relationship with. At trial, Herman put forward two defences: self-defence and provocation. The judge acquitted Herman of first-degree murder. In determining whether the Crown had proven Herman guilty of second-degree murder, the judge rejected Herman’s defence of self-defence. He then went on to find that the victim provoked Herman, which had the effect of reducing what would otherwise be second-degree murder to manslaughter. Herman was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment. The focus of the Crown’s appeal was the judge’s implicit conclusion that there was an air of reality to the defence of provocation. Herman appealed against his conviction for manslaughter on the footing that the judge erred in law and fact by rejecting his claim of self-defence. Herman also appealed his sentence, saying primarily that the judge did not properly consider the extent to which his moral culpability was attenuated by his Indigeneity and factors associated with his and the victim’s abusive relationship....