Canadian law is clear that liability extends to ‘lookouts’ and ‘get-away’ drivers. For this reason, an accused cannot put forward the defence that they were not directly involved in the offence and are thereby innocent. The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”), however, encounters difficulties when applying the law on abetting and counselling in R v […]
In R v ADH, [2013] 2 SCR 269, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") articulated its position on the requisite fault element for the offence of child abandonment. While the SCC unanimously held that the accused in the case should be acquitted, it was split (5:2) on whether mens rea should be assessed subjectively or objectively. […]
Appeal Watch is a new feature that profiles cases that have been recently granted or denied leave to appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada. SCC Refuses to Revisit Murder Mens Rea Standard In the years following the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the courts in Canada used their new-found power […]
