Canada Case Law

T.J. v. S.R.

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The father's request for supervised parenting time was denied because the court lacked updated expert evidence assessing his current risk post‑release and found his reintegration plan incomplete, combined with the 2021 forensic assessment indicating risk and substantiated concerns about the proposed supervisor, such that allowing direct contact would not be in the child's best interests.

Source excerpt

• Custody
• Parenting time
• Supervised access
• Risk assessment
• Sexual offending
• Best interests of the child

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R. v. Hayer

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court granted the Crown’s application for a pre-sentence report with a psychological component before sentencing in a manslaughter case.

• Pre-sentence report
• Psychological assessment
• Sentencing discretion
• Publication ban (s.486.5)
• Pre-sentence-report
• Psychological-assessment

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R. v. Boden

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court qualified a forensic psychologist to give expert evidence on victim trauma and trauma bonding, then ordered CCTV testimony under s. 486.2(2).

• Witness accommodation
• Closed-circuit television testimony
• Expert evidence admissibility
• Hearsay in expert opinions
• Trauma/ptsd
• Trauma bonding

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S.R.M. v. N.G.T.M.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

High-conflict parenting variation case where the court found a material change in circumstances, shifted final decision-making to the respondent, kept equal parenting time, increased child support, and valued the BSP share.

• Material change of circumstances
• Parental decision making
• Parenting time
• Shared custody
• Business succession program valuation
• S.211 psychological assessment

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R. v. R.P.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Appeal from a conviction for sexual touching of a child. The court refused fresh expert evidence about mild cognitive impairment and dismissed the appeal.

• Fresh evidence admissibility
• Witness credibility and reliability
• Expert opinion evidence
• Mild cognitive impairment (mci)
• Palmer test
• Sexual offence (touching a child)

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R. v. Awasis

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The appeal from a dangerous offender designation and indeterminate sentence was dismissed. The court upheld the findings on risk, Gladue factors, and refused fresh evidence.

• Dangerous offender designation
• Indeterminate sentence
• Gladue factors
• Treatability and risk assessment
• Admission of fresh evidence
• Dangerous-offender-designation

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R. v. Horswill

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Appeal from a conviction for sexual interference with a child was dismissed. Fresh evidence was refused, the evidence was not misapprehended, and expert opinion was properly excluded.

• Sexual interference
• Fresh evidence (palmer)
• Admissibility of expert opinion (mohan)
• Credibility assessment
• Misapprehension of evidence
• Memory and dreams

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R. v. Garnier

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Dr. Moore is permitted to give opinion evidence limited to the psychology of memory (the nine specified memory‑related topics) because that evidence is logically relevant, necessary and can be presented impartially; he is not permitted to give opinion evidence about police interrogation techniques (including the Reid Technique) nor to opine on the ultimate reliability, voluntariness or truthfulness of Mr. Garnier’s statement, and his report is excluded because it crosses into advocacy, lacks sufficient foundation on interrogation science, and risks usurping the trier of fact.

Source excerpt

• Voluntariness of confession
• False confessions
• Reid technique
• Admissibility of expert evidence
• Memory reliability

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R. v. Haley

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court designated Paul Haley a dangerous offender and imposed an indeterminate penitentiary sentence, rejecting challenges to actuarial risk evidence and Gladue-based mitigation.

• Dangerous offender designation
• Risk assessment (pcl-r, vrag-r)
• Gladue considerations
• Charter s.7 and s.12 challenges
• Indeterminate sentencing (s.753(4.1))
• Dangerous-offender-designation

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R. v. Moir

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Voir dire on Mr. Big evidence: the court admitted limited psychologist evidence on the accused’s cognitive functioning, but excluded the rest of the report.

• Mr. big technique
• Admissibility of expert evidence
• Confession reliability
• Abuse of process
• Neuropsychological testing
• Mr-big-technique

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