Bring back firing squads?
From The Plague, by Albert Camus: “Have you ever seen a man shot by a firing squad? No, of course not; the spectators are hand-picked and it’s like a private…
James C Morton
Evidence on a voir dire forms no part of trial proper
Sadikov OJ No. 376: 30 A voir dire is held to determine the admissibility of evidence proposed for admission by a party to a criminal proceeding: R. v. Parsons (1977),…
A guilty plea does not ALWAYS reflect an agreement to actually committing the offence
{But note it is unethical for counsel to assist in the making of a guilty plea where an accused does not accept actual guilt – RPC 5.1-8(c)) Kumar, 2011 ONCA…
Civil Forfeiture
Ontario (Attorney General) v. $10,000.00 in Canadian Currency (In Rem), 2014 ONSC 944: “Unlawful activity” is defined in the Act as an act or omission that is an offence under…
Lump sum spousal support
Racco v. Racco, 2014 ONCA 330: This was an appropriate case for a lump sum payment. The appellant has an ability to pay. There was a high level of animosity…
An apparently lawful action – calling the police – may constitute extortion
R. v. Karimi, 2014 ONCA 320: The appellant submits that, as a matter of law, a threat to call the police, standing alone, can never constitute extortion. Again we disagree.…
Similar fact and collusion
R. v. Matthew O’Quinn, 2012 CanLII 67731 (NL PC) Laura Mennie Prov. J. http://www.canlii.org/en/nl/nlpc/doc/2012/2012canlii67731/2012canlii67731.pdfThe accused was charged with a number of offences in relation to his girlfriend, including unlawful confinement,…
Supreme Court rules Senate cannot be changed without Constitutional Amendment
Senate decision 2013 SCC 32: Pursuant to s. 53 of the Supreme Court Act, the Governor in Council referred the following questions to this Court: 1. In relation to each…
Conservatives and Liberals tied
The Conservatives and Liberals are tied in the national vote for the first time in months, as Canadians appear unmoved by the controversy whirling around the government’s elections bill, a…
Senate Decision
The Supreme Court has been surprising me recently. That said, it seems almost inconceivable that it will approve any material changes to the Senate without a full constitutional amendment process.…
Automatism and Mental Disorder
R. v. S.H., 2014 ONCA 303: (1) The Nature of Automatism Automatism is a state of impaired consciousness in which a person, though capable of action, has no voluntary control…
Another misapprehension of evidence case
R. v. M.C., 2014 ONCA 307: A misapprehension of evidence may refer to a failure to consider evidence relevant to a material issue, a mistake as to the substance of…
Putin says experts should hold on to every area of Russia’s Arctic continental shelf
Wake up Canada: Story While conducting bilateral and multilateral consultations with governments of the Arctic nations, Russian experts should hold on to every area of the Arctic continental shelf of…