R v Boucher

Boucher v The King
Supreme Court of Canada
Hearing:
Judgment: December 18, 1950
Full case nameAime Boucher v. His Majesty the King
Citations[1951] SCR 265
Prior historyJudgment for the Crown in the Quebec Court of King's Bench, Appeal Side.
RulingAppeal allowed.
Holding
The criminal offence of seditious libel requires language that is calculated to promote public disorder or physical force or violence.
Court membership
Chief Justice: Thibaudeau Rinfret
Puisne Justices: Patrick Kerwin, Robert Taschereau, Ivan Rand, Roy Kellock, James Wilfred Estey, Charles Holland Locke, John Robert Cartwright, Gerald Fauteux
Reasons given
MajorityKerwin J.
ConcurrenceRand J.
ConcurrenceKellock J.
ConcurrenceEstey J.
ConcurrenceLocke J.
DissentRinfret C.J.
DissentTaschereau J.
DissentCartwright J., joined by Fauteux J.

R v Boucher is a Supreme Court of Canada decision. In the case, the Court overturned a conviction for seditious libel, on the grounds that criticizing the government was a valid form of protest.