Tomorrow, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear oral arguments in a case that has the potential to make new law in the way that courts review the conduct of Crown Attorneys, and in the way that courts deal with claims for damages for wrongful convictions. The case involves Ivan Henry, convicted of sexual assaults
Damages and Wrongful Convictions Read More »
The most recent edition of the Criminal Lawyers Association Newsletter, For The Defence, is devoted to the subject of advocacy. In an introductory note, editor Breese Davies laments the absence of direct feedback from judges on how an advocate might have better performed in an individual case. What could they have done differently? How could
Advocacy Tips from Criminal Court Judges Read More »
There have been an outpouring of tributes to Edward Greenspan since his passing on December 24, 2014. There is not much that can be added, so it is Mr. Greenspan’s own inimitable voice that seems most worth recalling. What follows are extracts from an interview with Mr. Greenspan in the Spring 2009 edition of The
Eddie Greenspan In His Own Words Read More »
A grainy video showing eight year old Tori Stafford being led away by one of her killers served as a tragic image in the trial of Tracy-Lynne McClintic and Michael Rafferty. McClintic pled guilty to first degree murder. Rafferty went to trial before a jury and was convicted of first degree murder. The high profile
The Michael Rafferty Appeal and State Funded Counsel Read More »
Liability for criminal conduct requires an intent to cause harm. An important question in criminal law is the degree to which lesser states than actual knowledge can form the basis for a criminal conviction. In the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Briscoe, 2010 SCC 13 released today, the Court makes
What is Wilful Blindness? Read More »
There is an interesting decision reported in the most recent edition of the Ontario Reports, a weekly journal with important decisions from Ontario Courts. The case involved a conviction for money laundering by a lawyer and an appeal of the conviction and three year sentence. The lawyer, Simon Rosenfeld, was caught red handed when he
Section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees to any person charged with an offence the right “to be tried within a reasonable time.” What is reasonable is left to the Courts to decide in the circumstances of individual cases. There are guidelines. The Supreme Court of Canada has said that, for less
Trial Within A Reasonable Time Read More »
On July 17, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada released four decisions on the important question of the circumstances in which evidence obtained by the police in a manner contrary to the Charter of Rights should be excluded from consideration at trial. Section 24(2) of the Charter states “Where, in proceedings under subsection (1), a
Bringing the Administration of Justice Into Disrepute Read More »
The old adage “innocent until proven guilty” could soon become a phrase of the past. In August, a Montreal Court was scheduled to handle the first criminal case involving the new reverse onus law. The Reverse Onus law is a recent amendment to the Canadian Criminal Code that went into effect May 2008. The law
New Reverse Onus Law Could Change the Face of the Canadian Criminal Law Read More »
In the Canadian legal system, there are generally two elements required to prove a crime: the act (actus rea) and the mental state (mens rea). Generally, without proof of these two elements there can be no criminal conviction. However, what may at first seem like a simple equation of two parts, can actually become a
The Role of Mens Rea and Actus Rea in Criminal Law Read More »
