Roncarelli v. Duplessis

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Roncarelli v. Duplessis

Hearing: June 2-6, 1958
Judgment: January 27, 1959


Full case name:	Frank Roncarelli v. The Honourable Maurice Duplessis
Citations:	[1959] S.C.R. 121
Ruling:	Trial judge correct, amount awarded at trial increased by $25,000.

Court membership

Chief Justice: Patrick Kerwin
Puisne Justices: Robert Taschereau, Ivan Rand, Charles Locke, John Robert Cartwright, Gerald Fauteux, Douglas Abbott, Ronald Martland, Wilfred Judson

Reasons given

Majority by: Martland J.
Joined by: Locke J.
Concurrence by: Kerwin C.J.
Concurrence by: Rand J.
Joined by: Judson J.
Concurrence by: Abbott J.
Dissent by: Taschereau J.
Dissent by: Cartwright J.
Dissent by: Fauteux J.

Roncarelli v. Duplessis, [1959] S.C.R. 121, was a landmark constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where the Court held that Maurice Duplessis, the premier of Quebec, had overstepped his authority by revoking the liquor license of a Jehovah's Witness. Justice Rand wrote in his often-quoted reasons that the unwritten constitutional principle of the "rule of law" meant no public official was above the law, that is, they could neither suspend it or dispense it.

1 Background
2 Opinion of the Court
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Background

Frank Roncarelli was a successful restaurant owner and practicing Jehovah's Witness in Montreal. He was very active in the Jehovah's Witness community and used his wealth to support persecuted members by offering bail security for those who had been arrested by the municipal government.

At the time, sometimes violent tension between the dominant Roman Catholic community and the Jehovah's Witness community saw increasing arrests of Jehovah's Witness members for selling copies of their newspapers without the necessary permits under city by-laws.

Roncarelli furnished bail for over 375 Jehovah's Witness members in three years and many were arrested multiple times.

The Chief Prosecutor of the city, Oscar Gagnon, overwhelmed by the number of Witnesses being arrested and then set free by Roncarelli's intervention, contacted the Premier who spoke to Edouard Archambault, Chairman of the Quebec Liquor Commission. Roncarelli's liquor license was subsequently revoked. Extensive testimony showed the government actors believed Roncarelli was disrupting the court system, causing civil disorder and was therefore not entitled to the liquor license.

Roncarelli received news of the revocation in December of 1946, and while he tried to keep his business open without the license, it was not profitable and he put it up for sale within six months. Consequently, he brought an action against Duplessis for $118,741 in damages.

At trial, the Québec Court of Queen's Bench found in favour of Roncarelli, however it was overturned on appeal.

[edit] Opinion of the Court

In a 6-to-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada reinstated the trial decision; holding that Duplessis wrongfully caused the revocation of Roncarelli's liquor license.

While six judges agreed in the result (that Duplessis was liable), they had different reasoning behind that conclusion. Three judges wrote that Duplessis had ordered the cancellation which was outside his authority as premier; two judges stated Duplessis had the power to order the cancellation had done so in bad faith; and the sixth judge concluded the premier was not entitled to immunity as a public official.

Note that while Roncarelli ultimately prevailed, he was awarded only $33,123.53 in damages, a fraction of his claim.

His legal counsel throughout was Professor Frank Scott.