Canada Case Law

R. v. Lloyd

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court held the appeal judge erred in overturning the conviction for insufficiency of reasons because the bilingual transcript and the admitted DCR made it apparent from the record that the complainant said she was touched under her clothing; the DCR is admitted and placed under seal; accordingly the conviction is restored and the matter is remitted to the Summary Conviction Appeal Court to decide the remaining grounds of appeal, including issues of intent and sentence.

Source excerpt

• Reasons for judgment sufficiency
• Fresh evidence (digital court recording)
• Sexual assault (sexual touching)
• Publication ban (s.486.4 criminal code)
• Standard of review

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R. v. Kooner

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Kooner’s appeal, holding the circumstantial evidence proved he was the driver and knew bodily harm had resulted from the collision.

• Hit-and-run
• Circumstantial evidence
• Knowledge/mens rea
• Wilful blindness
• Standard of review for factual findings
• Circumstantial-evidence

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R v. West

Court

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal

Because the sentencing judge imposed a total global sentence of 865 days (more than two years), R. v. Fice bars using pre-sentence custody credit to make the offender eligible for a conditional sentence; the SCAC did not err and leave to appeal is denied.

Source excerpt

• Conditional sentence
• Pre-sentence custody credit
• Application of r. v. fice
• Consolidation of informations

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R. v. Phillips

Court

Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal

The Court held the trial judge did not err: Crown was entitled to redirect Deeley to clarify location/vantage raised on defence cross‑examination; prior consistent statements elicited by defence did not require exclusionary directions that would undermine defence tactic; the one‑frame‑per‑second video was sufficiently reliable for the jury; and on the totality of circumstantial and forensic evidence (balaclava DNA matching appellant, matching broken stock and shell, sneaker and audio/video evidence) a properly instructed jury could reasonably convict — appeal dismissed and conviction upheld.

Source excerpt

• Unreasonable verdict
• Prior consistent statements
• Redirect/re-examination
• Impeachment of witness
• Circumstantial evidence
• Identity of accused

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Moazzen-Ahmadi v. Ahmadi-Far

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Appeal from a support-repayment order dismissed. The Court held it had jurisdiction to order repayment after retroactive variation and refused fresh evidence on a vacant lot.

• Retroactive variation
• Repayment of overpaid support
• Jurisdiction to order repayment
• Res judicata and collateral attack
• D.b.s. factors
• S.17 divorce act

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R. v. Tschritter

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal for British Columbia refused to direct a bail review under s. 680 of the Criminal Code, finding no arguable material error in the bail denial.

• Judicial interim release
• Section 680 direction
• Section 515 detention grounds
• Publication ban s.517
• Standard of review for bail review
• Bail-review

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R. v. R.B.

Court

Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal

Trial judge erred in fact and law producing a demonstrably unfit one-year sentence for sexual assault; although an appropriate sentence in these circumstances would be two years less a day, because the one-year sentence and the fourteen-month conditional sentence have been served the Court will not increase incarceration but will extend probation from six months to two years; the conditional sentence for arson was legally unavailable but will not be converted given time already served.

Source excerpt

• Mandatory minimum sentence
• Age of consent/close-in-age defence
• Grooming/luring
• Conditional sentence availability
• Denunciation and deterrence
• Remand credit

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R. v. Bogarh

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal of British Columbia declined to direct a bail review, holding there was no arguable material error and the flight-risk finding was supported.

• S.515 primary ground (attendance at trial)
• S.469 reverse onus
• S.680 direction for review
• Publication ban s.517
• Flight risk assessment
• Electronic monitoring and conditions of release

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R.A. v. Her Majesty The Queen

Court

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed a criminal appeal about the sufficiency of trial reasons, holding the judge’s reasons adequately supported the credibility findings and conviction.

• Sexual interference
• Credibility assessment
• Reasons for judgment
• Sufficiency of reasons
• Criminal-law
• Appeal-review

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R. v. Wiens

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

A British Columbia appeal from a second-degree murder conviction was dismissed. The court upheld peaceful-disposition evidence, the jury charge, and exclusion of defence firearms expert evidence.

• Self-defence
• Peaceful disposition evidence
• Admissibility of expert opinion
• Jury instructions
• Probative vs prejudicial balancing
• Appellate deference

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