The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will soon hear the appeal of R v Chizanga, 2024 ONCA 545 [Chizanga], in which it will opine on the principles of admitting evidence of prior discreditable conduct [41405]. Building upon the seminal case of R v Handy, 2002 SCC 56 [Handy] which set out the principles for the admissibility of such evidence, this appeal […]
In many jurisdictions, the state has no right of appeal against the acquittal of an accused at trial. This is not so in Canada, where the Attorney General may appeal an acquittal on questions of law. In R. v. T.J.F, 2024 SCC 38 [“T.J.F.”], the Supreme Court of Canada allowed a Crown appeal of an […]
What is the causal line between attempted murder and aiding suicide? The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will grapple with this issue as it has granted leave [41420] to appeal the Court of Appeal for Ontario’s (“ONCA”) decision in R v BF, 2024 ONCA 511 [BF]. At issue before the court will be the interplay […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has granted leave [41126] to appeal the Alberta Court of Appeal’s (“ABCA”) decision in R v Sheppard, 2023 ABCA 381 [Sheppard]. The case will join R v Friesen, 2020 SCC 9 [Friesen] and R v Bertrand Marchand, 2023 SCC 26 [Bertrand Marchand] as further guidance on sentencing offenders who […]
The Supreme Court has recognized that habeas corpus is “the strongest tool a prisoner has to ensure that the deprivation of his or her liberty is not unlawful” (Mission Institution v Khela, 2014 SCC 24 at para 29 [Khela]). In Dorsey v Canada (Attorney General), the Court will decide [41132] whether that tool is available […]
In R v Bouvette, 2023 BCCA 152 [Bouvette] the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (BCCA) set aside a guilty plea and ordered a stay of proceedings where the Crown failed to disclose material documents to the defence. In doing so, they adopted a strict version of the test for when an acquittal is an […]
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (“ONCA”) has re-emphasised that capacity for rational decision-making has no place in the test for fitness to stand trial. In its ruling in R v Bharwani, 2023 ONCA 203 [Bharwani], the ONCA held that fitness to stand trial under s. 2 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 […]
In R v Hanan, 2023 SCC 12 [Hanan], the Supreme Court (“SCC”) found that transitional exceptional circumstances did not excuse an excess delay of proceedings under s 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]. Facts On December 23, 2015, the accused was charged with first degree murder, attempted murder, and firearms-related […]
In La Presse inc v Quebec, 2023 SCC 22 [La Presse], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) determined that publication bans established in s 648(1) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985 c C-46 (“Code”) apply automatically to judgements rendered prior to jury empanelment.
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 […]