Law360 Canada ( September 29, 2026, 9:45 AM EDT) -- Appeal by appellant from his conviction for sexual assault. The complainant alleged that the appellant sexually assaulted her while they were alone at a river, including digital and penile penetration, while the appellant admitted only limited consensual sexual activity initiated by the complainant and denied any penetration. After the jury requested a replay of the complainant’s and the appellant’s evidence, defence counsel asked the trial judge to remind the jury of her legal instructions, but the judge declined, noting that the jury already had written copies of the charge. The appellant argued that the conviction should be set aside because a juror had a prior association with his spouse, who testified as a defence witness, creating a reasonable apprehension of bias, and because the trial judge erred by failing to remind the jury of the principles in R v. W(D) (W(D)) after replaying the complainant’s and the appellant’s testimony during deliberations. He relied on fresh evidence concerning the juror’s historical relationship with his spouse and sought to establish that the juror was biased against the defence....