Criminal
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April 30, 2025
Ford unveils proposed bail reforms, comes under fire for comments on judicial independence
The Ontario government has announced plans to toughen the province’s bail system through measures that include the introduction of special teams of prosecutors dedicated to arguing for the continued incarceration of serious and violent offenders at bail hearings.
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April 30, 2025
Ontario Court of Appeal criminal decision should ‘be in a trial lawyer’s toolbox’: lawyer
The Court of Appeal for Ontario unanimously overturned the convictions of co-appellants for the shooting death of an innocent man in a London, Ont., park. The ruling in R. v. Lako, 2025 ONCA 284, announced April 17, ordered a new trial for William McDonald, convicted of second-degree murder, and Thomas Lako, convicted of manslaughter for the shooting death of Jonathan Zak.
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April 30, 2025
Policing the police? Calling out racial profiling for what it really is
As a Black person, there are many issues you have to contend with on a daily basis. You may leave your house, but there is no guarantee you will return home. I mean, that is the case for everyone, right? Not quite; the risk increases exponentially when the “hue” of your skin is an ever-present factor.
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April 30, 2025
EVIDENCE - Admissibility - Prejudicial evidence - Confessions and statements by the accused - Voluntariness
Appeal by Ordonio from conviction for first-degree murder for his involvement in stabbing death of Hsin.
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April 30, 2025
Murder appeal focuses on Reid police interrogation technique
It is a common belief that a person would not confess to a crime they did not commit. In fact, people sometimes do. Our judicial system must guard against accepting false confessions. Voluntariness of the statement is often explored to ascertain its truthfulness.
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April 29, 2025
Ontario to amend Highway Traffic Act to give police authority to search, seize vehicle theft devices
Ontario is proposing new legislation to amend the Highway Traffic Act to give police the authority to search for and seize electronic devices intended to be used for vehicle theft.
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April 29, 2025
APPEALS - Grounds - Misapprehension of or failure to consider evidence - Unreasonable verdict
Application by Melanson for leave to appeal sentence and appeal from conviction and sentence for robbery and unlawful confinement.
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April 28, 2025
Ontario’s ‘tough-on-crime’ proposals for judicial selection could backfire, lawyers warn
Two leaders with Ontario’s criminal justice bar are concerned that new “tough-on-crime” measures announced by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government could serve to undermine the province’s criminal justice system rather than strengthen it.
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April 28, 2025
Colour of right, principal and secondary parties under discussion in N.B. appeal
A couple, Kevin Melanson, 48, and Christina Melanson, 40, of Sackville, N.B., were sentenced to three years in prison for a violent robbery at the now-defunct Fredericton business Buddy’s Cannabis Clinic, in June 2018. Kevin had invested $25,000 in Buddy’s, and he understood he had lost his investment.
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April 28, 2025
When the system came for me, my co-counsel was AI
In July 2023, I was detained and charged by an officer of the Toronto Police Service during a low-speed parking manoeuvre in downtown Toronto. My dashcam footage contradicted the officer’s claims. Still, I was detained for nearly an hour, falsely accused of impaired driving and issued four additional traffic charges. What followed was a two-year ordeal filled with obstruction, delay and procedural abuse by the Toronto Police Service and the City of Toronto’s legal counsel.