Jacques Delisle, retired Quebec judge, denied final murder appeal
Supreme Court rejects appeal of ex-judge found guilty of murdering wife
Jacques Delisle, the first judge in the country to be convicted of murder, has been denied an appeal by the Supreme Court of Canada.
This was Delisle’s last opportunity for an appeal, and because his crime carries an automatic life sentence, he will likely serve the rest of his life in prison.
Steve Magnan, one of three Crown prosecutors who worked on the case, said the Supreme Court's decision shows that no one — not even a former judge — gets preferential treatment.
"Nobody is above the law, simply put. The Quebec City investigators did a magnificent job on the file," Magnan said.
A jury found the former Quebec City judge guilty of murdering his wife, Nicole Rainville, in June 2012.
Rainville, who had been left partially paralyzed by a stroke, was found dead in the couple’s Quebec City condo on Nov. 12, 2009. Delisle called police and reported that his wife had taken her own life.
In testimony, the police officer who responded to the 911 call said the retired judge asked that his wife's wish to die be respected and that no resuscitation attempt be made.
However, experts testified at the trial that the evidence at the scene didn’t match up with Delisle’s suicide claim.
The Crown argued she was in a defensive position and that she was physically incapable of shooting herself.
During the trial, the court heard that Delisle was living a double life and seeing his former secretary around the time of Rainville's death.
The Crown alleged the couple's life changed significantly after Rainville suffered a stroke, and she had spent much of the last months of her life in the hospital recovering from a broken hip.
According to the Crown, that contributed to the motive for the murder.
Last May, Quebec's highest court refused to grant Delisle a new trial.
As usual, the top court will not give its reason for its decision to not hear the appeal.
Longtime defence lawyer Raynald Beaudry said the appeal denial was not surprising.
"For the Supreme Court to grant a request for appeal, there has to be a question of national interest or something that could change the law," Beaudry said.
Delisle was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 1983 and sat on the Court of Appeal for 15 years. He left the bench six months before Rainville's death.