August 20, 2026
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey has appointed five judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective Aug. 27, 2026: Brent Ian Davidson, Vanessa Elizabeth Decker, Mark Andrew Jacula, Andrew David Midwood and Cindy Nadler.
August 20, 2026
A sexual assault conviction cannot survive when the trial judge’s assessment of credibility is built, even in part, on evidence that has been misunderstood or given a legally impermissible use.
August 19, 2026
The growing burdens that generative AI misuse in court is imposing on lawyers, litigants and courts are illustrated by a recent Nova Scotia Court of Appeal judgment that threw out a self-represented litigant’s appeal following his use of uncertified AI-generated trial transcripts containing multiple inaccuracies that opposing counsel identified through vigilant verification.
August 19, 2026
Ontario’s attempt to make bail “more real and consequential” may instead create a constitutional confrontation over who has the power to decide the terms on which an accused person is released from custody.
August 18, 2026
Quebec’s top court has ordered a self-represented family law appellant to pay $1,000 to his ex-wife plus her legal costs on the appeal, following his “deliberate” citation in court of ChatGPT-generated fake case law, including fictitious quotations.
August 18, 2026
Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette has appointed Jean-François Lambert as a judge of the Court of Quebec. He will primarily sit in the Criminal and Penal Division in Longueuil.
August 18, 2026
Rafal Szymanski has joined Alexander Holburn as a partner in its Toronto office, practising with the firm’s insurance, professional liability and police law groups.
August 18, 2026
Appeal by Sandhu from his conviction for sexual assault. The complainant and Sandhu were alone in a hotel room for approximately 20 to 30 minutes after their friends, R.E. and U.K., left to obtain food. The complainant testified that while she was intoxicated, Sandhu did something to her vagina that caused pain, that she repeatedly told him to stop, and that she later found herself in a bathroom without her pants or underwear.
August 17, 2026
The Federal Court has declined to stay the removal of a former senior Iranian government official “because Canada’s interest in removing persons who participated in regimes that systematically violate human rights outweighs any harm that might befall him upon returning to Iran.”
August 17, 2026
A coalition of legal and civil rights groups has launched a constitutional challenge to Ontario’s new cash bail requirements, arguing the rules create a “two-tier” justice system that favours people who can afford to pay for their release. Changes to the bail system came into effect on Aug. 17, and among other things require a cash security deposit in the full amount pledged to be paid once an accused person is released into custody, with payment due within two business days of release.