Author: James C Morton

Under section 23 of the Courts of Justice Act the Small Claims Court has a limited jurisdiction.  The CJA provides  Small Claims Court has jurisdiction in any action for the payment of money or for the recovery of possession of personal property up to a value of $25,000.  The recent Newfound decision in Baker

Neither the Prime Minister nor Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould made a specific comment on whether the Gerald Stanley case was rightly decided. But they did say that the way juries are assembled in Canada can lead to a perception of partiality. Recognizing that and taking steps to revise the jury

R. v. F.H.L., 2018 ONCA 83: [22] A plea of guilt does not entitle an offender to a set standard of mitigation. The amount of credit a guilty plea attracts will vary in each case. In R. v. Faulds (1994), 1994 CanLII 770 (ON CA), 20 O.R. (3d) 13 (C.A.),

[30]        Used appropriately, summary judgment motions are an important tool for enhancing access to justice and achieving proportionate, timely and cost-effective adjudication: Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7, [2014] 1 S.C.R. 87. In my view, this motion for summary judgment was premature and should not have been brought until the positions of

 Bruff-Murphy v. Gunawardena, 2017 ONCA 502:   [34]       In White Burgess, a decision released shortly before the judgment under appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada provided clarity and guidance regarding challenges to experts on the basis of bias and lack of independence. Cromwell J., writing for the court, stated at para. 19

R. v. Cody, 2017 SCC 31:                     Constitutional law — Charter of Rights  — Right to be tried within a reasonable time — Pre‑Jordan delay of more than five years between charges and anticipated end of trial — Whether accused’s right to be tried within reasonable time under s. 11 (b) of

R. v. Islam, 2017 ONCJ 335 is a useful case for POA prosecutions.  Some take aways include: S11(b) Jordan analysis applies to POA matters.  Time runs on Part 1 POA prosecutions from date of charge and not date defendant took some step – that seems obvious but was argued.  Cases

R. v. Antic (June 1), 2017 SCC 27 (S.C.C.) 67 Therefore, the following principles and guidelines should be adhered to when applying the bail provisions in a contested hearing: (a)    Accused persons are constitutionally presumed innocent, and the corollary to the presumption of innocence is the constitutional right to bail.

Justification for detention In Canada, there are only three grounds for detaining an accused prior to sentence. They are commonly referred to as primary grounds, secondary grounds, and tertiary grounds. Primary grounds refers to whether detention is necessary to ensure the accused’s attendance in court.] Considerations include the accused’s criminal history, their

The Supreme Court today (R. v. Hunt 2017 SCC 25) upheld a lower court decision (R. v. Hunt, 2016 NLCA 61) which limited the effect of pre-charge delay to rare cases of prejudice.  The Court below, cited by , stated: [81]        Subject to a few specific exceptions, the laying

Presidential MSH Corporation v. Marr Foster & Co. LLP, 2017 ONCA 325: [20]        First, the cases suggest that a legal proceeding against an expert professional may not be appropriate if the claim arose out of the professional’s alleged wrongdoing but may be resolved by the professional himself or herself without recourse

Tim Ludwig Professional Corporation v. BDO Canada LLP, 2017 ONCA 292: [68]        Keays holds that, because employers have an implied contractual obligation of good faith in the manner of dismissal, damages for bad faith in the manner of dismissal are within the contemplation of the parties when they enter into the contract. Given

Incompetent treatment by medical practitioners is quite rare. That's why, when it does happen, incompetent medical care is a big news story. It's a bit like the example of how safe airplanes are – a plane crash is so unusual that it gets front page coverage. All that said, sometimes

A trial judge must determine on a voir dire whether the individual is qualified as an expert, and if so, what the "nature and scope of the proposed expert evidence" will be. The qualification process is one of delineating the boundaries of the evidence and the language used. The judge

Redstone Enterprises Ltd. v. Simple Technology Inc., 2017 ONCA 282: [19]       Deposits are commonplace in the operation of the market, especially for larger assets such as residential and commercial real estate. Their purpose was explored at learned length by Newbury J.A. speaking for a five-person panel in Tang v. Zhang, 2013 BCCA 52,

R.A v. S.K. and D.K. 2017 NUCJ 5: [12]  In Nunavut there are two ways of adopting a child. One way is in accordance with Inuit custom. This does not involve the Courts or any government agencies. If a child has been adopted in accordance with Inuit custom, an adoptive

R. v. Paterson, 2017 SCC 15: The confessions rule should not be expanded to apply to statements tendered in the context of a voir dire under the Charter . The Crown must prove the voluntariness of an accused’s statement before it can rely upon that statement at trial as supporting a finding of guilt. The purpose

Miracle v. Maracle III, 2017 ONCA 195: [2]            The test for reasonable apprehension of bias laid down and consistently endorsed by the Supreme Court of Canada is: what would an informed person, viewing the matter realistically and practically—and having thought the matter through—conclude. Would he

Miracle v. Maracle III, 2017 ONCA 195: [2]            The test for reasonable apprehension of bias laid down and consistently endorsed by the Supreme Court of Canada is: what would an informed person, viewing the matter realistically and practically—and having thought the matter through—conclude. Would he

R. v. McManus, 2017 ONCA 188: (c)         The Relevant Principles [63]       To be admitted into evidence, an expert’s opinion must be (1) logically relevant to an issue in the proceedings; (2) necessary to assist the trier of fact; (3) not precluded by an exclusionary rule; and (4) tendered by a properly qualified