Trial judge’s expressions of impatience/annoyance do not necessarily demonstrate bias
Martin v. Sansome, 2014 ONCA 14: Bias is a predisposition to decide an issue or cause in a certain way that does not leave the judicial mind open and impartial:…
James C Morton
Real courage
Aitzaz Hasan: Pakistan ‘hero’ recommended for award Aitzaz Hasan was described as a brave and good student Continue reading the main story A Pakistani teenager has been recommended for a…
Judge allowed to ask clarifying questions at trial
Silvio v. 698743 Ontario Limited (J. DiFranco & Son Construction), 2014 ONCA 17: Third, the appellants contend that the trial judge compromised trial fairness by improperly interfering with the defendants’…
Dreams get smaller; but start big!
There's a series of advertisements for York University where young people fantasize about what they will achieve in the years ahead. Some of the achievements are quite spectacular and speak…
New trial ordered where trial judge took into account in assessing credibility that a Muslim chose to affirm and not swear
R v TRJ 2013 BCCA 449. As a practical matter delving into why someone swears or affirms is NEVER prudent.
Exercise of partial right to silence ought not to be held against an accused
In R. v. Wilson, 2013 ONSC 7830 the Court held that a witness/accused who told the police only part of what happened ought not to be found less credible. The…
"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are"
A nice quotation but not from Ben Franklin (as usually attributed). First, the quotation does not appear to be referred to anywhere prior to 2000. Second the use of the…
Judge should not discourage correction of interpreter by counsel
R. v. S.D.S., 2014 ONCA 4: The appellant’s counsel was fluent in Portuguese, and objected at times to the accuracy of the interpretation. The trial judge seemed to treat this…
Evidence of the relationship is admissible in domestic abuse cases even where such incidentally shows bad character
R. v. Carroll, 2014 ONCA 2: First, in cases of domestic homicide, evidence may be admitted during the case for the Crown, including evidence of extrinsic misconduct, that elucidates the…
Plaintiff fails to prove damages but gets second chance at new trial
TMS Lighting Ltd. v. KJS Transport Inc., 2014 ONCA 1: It is well-established that where the absence of evidence renders it impossible to assess damages, a plaintiff may be entitled…
Passing of Justice Webber
I knew him mainly as an arbitrator/mediator. He was a sensible lawyer and a very decent man; he will be missed. THE HONOURABLE JOHN B. WEBBER, Q.C. 1933 – 2013…
This has to be too good to be true
As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them…
What’s missing from this map?
Perhaps the Russians prepared it???
Similar Fact Evidence
R. v. P.E.L., 2013 BCCA 542: Similar act evidence exemplifies a type of propensity reasoning. It could be colloquially expressed by the aphorism that a leopard does not change its…
"Am I free to go?"
The post on Carding raised a concern among readers that cooperating with police as a custom makes Carding effective. That's quite true. My concern is that for most young black…