In R v Zacharias, 2023 SCC 30 [Zacharias], a divided Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or the “Court”) held that evidence obtained through an unlawful detention cannot be used to ground a lawful arrest. Although Zacharias set a uniform national standard on this point, the SCC was anything but uniform in addressing the issue and […]
In a rare unanimous judgement, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has ruled in R v Haevischer, 2023 SCC 11 (Haevischer) that only “manifestly frivolous” applications can be summarily dismissed in the criminal law context. The decision is significant for two reasons: (1) it arises out of the notorious “Surrey Six” case; and (2) it […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) applied the rapidly developing law surrounding the expectation of privacy in cell phones and police operations in R v Campbell, 2022 ONCA 666 [Campbell, ONCA]. The ONCA affirmed that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their text messages when the police legally seize any cell phone containing […]
Content Warning: The facts of the case involve the mention of child sexual abuse. In R v Chatillon, 2023 SCC 7 [Chatillon], the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") delivered a brief oral judgment re-visiting a case-by-case privilege in the context where a patient makes criminal admissions during the course of therapeutic treatment. A 6-1 […]
Is eyewitness testimony subject to a special standard of jury instructions? In R v Clark, 2022 SCC 49, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) upheld the need for trial judges to provide Hibbert instructions upon eyewitness testimony that leads to an identification in court. In a unanimous oral judgement delivered by Justice Karakatsanis, the court […]
In Barendregt v Grebliunas, 2022 SCC 22 [Barendregt], the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") examines the process by which new information can be introduced by the parties on appeal, specifically in the context of parenting relocation applications. Examining the various interests at play in a relocation application, the SCC ultimately concludes that finality is one […]
In R v Tim, 2022 SCC 12 [Tim], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) affirmed convictions for drug and firearm offences despite the initial arrest having been made by a police officer who mistakenly identified the prescription drug gabapentin as a controlled substance. The dissent would have acquitted the accused, finding that […]
In R v JJ (2022 SCC 28) (“JJ”), the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) considered the scope and legality of Bill C-51, which attempts to remove some of the hurdles that prevent victims of sexual assault (hereinafter referred to as “complainants”) from coming forward. The Bill was enacted in 2018, as An Act to amend […]
Content Warning: This article includes details about an allegation of sexual assault that may evoke strong emotions. In R v Kruk, 2022 BCCA 18 [Kruk], the British Columbia Court of Appeal ("BCCA") noted that "[relying] on … life experience to assess the credibility of witnesses is a daily and appropriate exercise for trial judges" (Kruk, […]
Trial judges play many roles, but one of their main tasks is determining what evidence is admissible. As a rule, all relevant evidence is admissible. But how do trial judges determine relevance, and what can they not take into account? This was the main question in R v Schneider, 2022 SCC 34 [Schneider], which the […]