PASSING OF THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE EDWARD W. DUCHARME
Peacefully on June 2, 2013 with loving family and friends by his side at the age of 69. Cherished husband of Carolyn Gray. Loving father of Sarah Gill. Beloved son…
James C Morton
Sufficiency of reasons
D.M. Drugs (Harris Guardian Drugs) v. Barry Edward Bywater (Parkview Hotel), 2013 ONCA 356: The duty of a trial judge to give reasons was explored in the Supreme Court of…
Statement of legal principle accepted by majority of SCC binding even if application not accepted by majority of Court
R. v. Ibanescu 2013 SCC 31 holds: In our view, a statement of a legal principle that is accepted by a majority of the Court constitutes the opinion of the…
Proposed sweeping new powers for Canadian police: police and probation will be able to compel hair, urine, blood, saliva and breath samples to ensure compliance with court orders prohibiting the consumption of drugs and alcohol.
From today’s Gazette. Police and probation authorities will be able to compel hair, urine, blood, saliva and breath samples to ensure compliance with court orders prohibiting the consumption of drugs…
Forum selection clauses
2249659 Ontario Ltd. v. Sparkasse Siegen, 2013 ONCA 354 holds: Forum selection clauses in an agreement between parties, particularly sophisticated commercial parties, will normally be enforced by Ontario courts. A…
Level of scrutiny for jurisdiction motion
Ontario (Attorney General) v. Rothmans Inc., 2013 ONCA 353 deals with the jurisdiction of Ontario’s courts. In deciding that issue the Court considered to what standard a potential plaintiff had…
Judge must allow parties an opportunity to make submissions
R. v. C.T., 2013 ONCA 350 holds: First, the trial judge erred by making the order without indicating he was considering making it and giving the Crown an opportunity to…
Proof beyond reasonable doubt
R. v. A.P., 2013 ONCA 344 is a useful reminder that a judge in a criminal matter is not there to determine what happened but rather to see if proof…
Curtailing cross examination on credibility only rarely
R. v. R.D., 2013 ONCA 343 holds: Second, although a trial judge has a responsibility to protect a witness from harassing, repetitive or irrelevant cross-examination, defence counsel’s cross-examination of the…
Judicial cut and paste
Cojocaru v B.C 2013 SCC 30 deals with judicial “cut and paste” and, broadly put, approves it: In summary, courts in Canada and elsewhere have held that copying in reasons…
Kijiji Follow Up – A note sent to me as worth posting
Kijiji has confirmed to the police that the ad posted by Mr. Bosma on Kijiji did not feature personal contact information, nor did it receive any replies, which determines the…
Judicial officers properly judge their own conduct
R. v. S.M., 2013 ONCA 333 holds there is no difficulty with judicial officers judging their own conduct: As noted, the applicant submits that this court should take into consideration…
Kijji and Tim Bosma
Could Kijji be found liable for the wrongful death of Tim Bosma? The question is not trivial as enormous numbers of people, previously unknown to each other, now meet online…
Gladue principles do not trump other sentencing criteria
R. v. Killiktee, 2013 ONCA 332 holds that Gladue principles are factors but not necessarily dispositive factors in sentencing: Further, in our opinion, the sentencing judge gave proper effect to…