Unlawful Act Conspiracy
Berry v. Pulley, 2015 ONCA 449: Canadian courts recognize two types of actionable conspiracy: Pro-Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Microsoft Corp., 2013 SCC 57, 3 S.C.R. 477, at para. 73. The…
James C Morton
Private Prosecutions
Most criminal cases are started when someone complains to the police and, following investigation, the police lay charges. That said, anyone can go before a Justice of the Peace and…
Reliability criteria for exception to hearsay rule under principled approach
R. v. Taylor, 2015 ONCA 448: The reliability requirement refers to threshold reliability, not ultimate reliability, and thus reflects the distinction between the admission of evidence and reliance upon it:…
Incarceration following successful Crown sentencing appeal
Historically Courts have hesitated to incarcerate offenders following a successful Crown sentence appeal. For example the recent decision in R. v. Schertzer, 2015 ONCA 259, where the Court declined to…
Pardons for Criminal Convictions
Millions of Canadians (perhaps three million) have a criminal record. Such records have an impact; being branded a “criminal” even for very minor offences can be a big problem. Since…
Arson is a general intent offence
R. v. Tatton, 2015 SCC 33: The offence of arson in s. 434 of the Criminal Code is a general intent offence for which intoxication falling short of automatism is…
Medical marijuana includes cookies, brownies
R. v. Smith, 2015 SCC 34: Accused persons have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the law under which they are charged, even if the alleged unconstitutional effects are not…
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
R. v. Trudel, 2015 ONCA 422: The analysis of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel proceeds upon a strong presumption that counsel’s assistance was competent: R. v. G.D.B., 2000…
Just because something is in a report does not mean a judge can rely on it
R v Alcorn, 2015 ABCA 182: As noted above, the first ground of appeal is that the sentencing judge effectively sentenced the appellant for worse crimes than he admitted. This…
Final or Interlocutory
Meisels v. Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company, 2015 ONCA 406: An order that does not finally dispose of the rights of the parties to the litigation will be a final order…
Inappropriate Trial Judge Interventions
R v Crawford, 2015 ABCA 175: The Trial Judge’s Interventions The appellant alleges that the trial judge’s numerous interruptions rendered the trial unfair. He has provided a catalogue of illustrations…
Adverse Inference from Failure to Call Evidence
Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company v. Geto Investments Limited, 2007 CanLII 27756: Where a party fails to call a witness and an explanation is not provided, the court may but not…
Restraints on accused in Court
R. v. Fortuin 2015 ONCJ 116 is reproduced in full: RULING ON USE OF RESTRAINTS IN THE COURTROOM 1 P.A. SCHRECK J.:– Shane Fortuin pleaded guilty to one count of…
When will an unauthorized internet search make a jury verdict unsafe?
R. v. Farinacci, 2015 ONCA 392: This problem has affected trials in many jurisdictions. As observed in R. v. Thompson EWCA Crim 1623, by the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division:…
Plea Negotiations in Criminal Matters Subject to Settlement Privilege
R. v. Delchev, 2015 ONCA 381: The appellant asks this court to find that the evidence of the plea bargaining discussion was admissible for the purpose of alleging abuse of…