Criminal
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April 10, 2025
Federal Court rejects Canada's motion to strike class action alleging RCMP doctors' misconduct
The Federal Court has dismissed a motion by Canada for an order to strike out portions of a statement of claim and to amend common issues in a class-action proceeding related to alleged abuses by medical doctors employed by the RCMP.
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April 10, 2025
Credibility finding in sexting case
I recently blogged about an Ontario case that discusses the issue of whether prior communications about sex are relevant in a sexual assault trial. Confusion often arises on this question because of the subtle distinction between threshold relevance and ultimate relevance, and the consequent failure to keep these concepts distinct in admissibility hearings under the s. 276 regime of the Criminal Code.
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April 10, 2025
PROCEDURE - Trial judge’s duties - Charge or directions
Appeal by Crown and cross-appeals by Pan, Mylvaganam, Wong and Crawford (collectively the “Respondents”) from judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal, which set aside convictions for first-degree murder and ordered a new trial, and affirmed convictions for attempted murder.
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April 09, 2025
New $1 coin marks the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada 150 years ago
The Supreme Court of Canada marked a milestone birthday on April 8, 2025, 150 years after it came into existence on April 8, 1875, when the Supreme and Exchequer Courts Act received royal assent. The composition, powers and importance of the world’s only bilingual and bijural apex court have evolved considerably since the court first sat in 1876, after the original six-judge bench was appointed.
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April 09, 2025
Appeal dismissed: Lack of timely objections by defence counsel sways court
Judges can sometimes make mistakes. Challenging a judicial decision can result in a judge wrongly deciding legal issues, making factual errors or using improper procedures. However, the chances of success in overturning a conviction are remote when the errors result from the defence counsel’s action.
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April 09, 2025
Viability of private prosecutions in hate-motivated crimes
Section 504 of the Criminal Code permits anyone to initiate a criminal proceeding by laying an information in writing, under oath before a justice. In R. v. Mivasair, 2025 ONCA 179, the Ontario Court of Appeal reviews the law respecting private prosecutions including the role and duty of the Crown and the remedies available to an informant where the Crown has intervened and terminated a private prosecution.
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April 08, 2025
Manitoba spends $3.3M to boost RCMP presence in rural areas amid rising crime
Manitoba is investing millions with local RCMP to get more “boots on the ground” in rural parts of the province.
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April 08, 2025
State-ordered executions topped 1,500 globally: Amnesty International | Aubrey Harris
Canada long ago abolished the death penalty. However, many of us were abruptly reminded of our connection to the human rights of those in other countries when we learned last month of the execution of four Canadians in China this year.
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April 08, 2025
The sounds of court | Norman Douglas
I am retired and miss the sounds of the courtroom. I say “strangely” because until retirement, I never gave any thought to them.
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April 07, 2025
N.S. Mi’kmaw communities now allowed cannabis stores
Regulated retail cannabis stores will now be allowed to operate on Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaw reservations.