How is “R v. Smith” pronounced?

Question

Is it “Are and smith”? “Rex/Regina and smith”? “The king/queen and smith”? What is the typical convention?

Answer 1

It varies. See Wikipedia: Case citation - Pronunciation of case titles: "When case titles are read out loud, the v can be pronounced, depending on the context, as and, against, versus, or vee." And "[t]he Latin words Rex, Regina, ... are all rendered into English."¹

You can see how various justices of the Supreme Court of Canada pronounce the "v" (ou le « c » en français) and the "R." when they call the case. Note that even individual justices are not consistent on the pronunciation of the "v."

• At the hearing for R. v. Smith, 2021 SCC 16, Justice Moldaver pronounced the case as, "Her Majesty the Queen and Mark Anthony Smith."

• At the hearing for R. v. Smith, 2015 SCC 34, Chief Justice McLachlin pronounced the case as, "Her Majesty the Queen versus Owen Edward Smith."

• At the hearing for R. v. S.S., 2023 SCC 1, Chief Justice Wagner pronounced the case as, "His Majesty the King versus S S."

• At the hearing for R. v. Stairs, 2022 SCC 11, Chief Justice Wagner pronounced the case as, "Matthew Stairs against Her Majesty the Queen."

• For a more complex scenario, with more than two parties on a side, see the hearing of Grant Thornton LLP v. New Brunswick, 2021 SCC 31. Justice Moldaver refers to the "matter of Grant Thornton LLP et al. [pronounced "ett all"] versus the province of New Brunswick and between Grant Thorton International Limited versus the province of New Brunswick."

• At the hearing for Desjardins Sécurité financière, compagnie d’assurance vie c. Émond, 2017 CSC 19, Justice Abella pronounced the case as, "Desjardins Sécurité financière, compagnie d’assurance vie contre Mariette Émond et autres."

While delivering argument, counsel often just shorten the names of well-known cases. E.g. in the hearing for R. v. Stairs, one counsel referred to "R. v. Godoy" simply as "Godoy" (08:40):

we accept, as this Court found in Godoy and in other cases ...

Another counsel later said (1:01:48):

I'm referring in particular to a decision of the Manitoba Court of Appeal — R [pronounced "arr"] versus R M J T — it's reported at 2014 Manitoba — MBCA 36.

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^{1. This answer was largely drafted to address an earlier version of the question which emphasized the pronunciation of the "v", leading with the alternatives: "Is it 'Are vee smith'? 'Are and smith'?" However, this answer also addresses how the "R." is pronounced, so I will leave it mostly as-is.}

Answer 2

australia

The Crown against Smith

v is “and” in civil trials and “against” in criminal ones

However, language changes and “v”, “versus”, and “against” are all variously acceptable depending on the age and cantankerousness of the judge.

R is “the Crown”

Again, depending on the formality, “ar” may be acceptable.

Note that “R” is only used in first instance trials, “the King” or “the Queen” are used in appeals and those are pronounced as you’d expect.

Answer 3

In the US, you will usually hear this as "vee," even though "versus" is correct. Others have said this, but the reason I wanted to write my own answer is because it is very, very common to hear people say "verse" which is definitely incorrect, but so common that it's usually just accepted. Nobody would bat an eye at "Are Verse Smith," for example.