Rights of the Accused

The Supreme Court of Canada’s Clarification of Abetting and Counselling in R v Cowan

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 […]

Five Years Too Long - R v Thanabalasingham: The Jordan Rule Affirmed

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) or (“the Court”) released their decision on R. v. Thanabalasingham 2020 SCC 18 [Thanabalasingham] on July 17, 2020. This case has been consistent with the Court’s trend towards discouraging prolonged institutional delays.

R v. Poulin: A Right to the Lesser Punishment

What is the Anthony-Cook “Public Interest Standard”? A New Canada-Wide Standard for Joint Submissions on Sentencing

  Introduction  In R v Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43, the Supreme Court of Canada adopted the “public interest” standard that trial judges across Canada are to employ to asses a joint submission on sentencing. While the case seeks to provide greater clarity for courts, prosecutors, accused persons, and their counsel, understanding the standard and what […]