Breakfast
Of the Law Societies of Upper Canada and Nunavut
James C Morton
Bail pending appeal
In order to get bail pending appeal an accused must show, among other things, that the appeal is not hopeless. The Court recently described what must be show as follows…
Reopening criminal trial after verdict
R. v. Sheeller, 2014 ONCA 867: The trial judge applied the correct test in determining whether to permit the defence to reopen the trial after a verdict. She acknowledged that…
Serious new punishments for people purchasing sexual services
Canada’s new prostitution law will go into effect December 6, criminalizing the purchase of sex for the first time in Canadian history. The bill criminalizes the buying of sex –…
Specific Performance
Matthew Brady Self Storage Corporation v. InStorage Limited Partnership, 2014 ONCA 858: As Matthew Brady points out in its factum, the trial judge granted specific performance because (i) the property…
Legal bills based on hourly rates not always appropriate; value not hours matters
Bank of Nova Scotia v. Diemer, 2014 ONCA 851: Having said that, it is evident that the fairness and reasonableness of the fees of a receiver and its counsel are…
"Jump" Principle
R v Johnsrud, 2014 ABCA 395: “Jump” Principle This principle of sentencing suggests that sentences for repeat offenders should increase gradually, rather than by large leaps. The appellant concedes that…
Adjournment for absent witness
R. v. Evic, 2014 NUCA 1: The Crown maintains on appeal that the trial judge erred in her application of the test for an adjournment based on the non-attendance of…
The court should add notional pre-judgment interest to the jury’s general damages award when determining whether an offer to settle attracts the costs consequences of rule 49.10 of the Rules of Civil Procedure
Wilson v. Cranley, 2014 ONCA 844: As the trial judge noted, s. 128 of the CJA provides that a person who is entitled to an order for the payment of…
Inukjuak, Resolute and Grise Fjord
Inukjuak, Quebec is tragically related to Resolute Bay and Grise Fjord, communities created 2000 km away in the High Arctic. In 1953 Inuit from Inukjuak were involuntarily relocated north by…
The arbitrariness of detention is determined by what police did and not what they could have done
R. v. Stevenson, 2014 ONCA 842 Whatever lawful police power, apart from the arrest power, thepolice may have had to detain the appellant, they did not purport toexercise any such…
Pre sentence custody should be customarily considered at 1.5 to 1
R. v. Geddes, 2014 ONCA 838: In R. v. Summers, S.C.J. No. 26, the Court held that the loss of early release alone will generally be a sufficient basis on…
An independent contractor cannot recover for wrongful dismissal
Ho v. World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada Inc., 2014 ONCA 832: In particular, the motion judge found that the appellant was not an employee but rather an independent…
Writing to a judge
Regulation 194 of the Courts of Justice Act, Rule 1.09 says: COMMUNICATIONS OUT OF COURT 1.09 When a proceeding is pending before the court, no party to the proceeding and…