Canada Case Law

R. v. Kleiman

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Appellate intervention was unwarranted: the sentencing judge committed no error in principle that affected the sentence and the global sentence was not demonstrably unfit. The judge lawfully balanced mitigation (including disability and pre-sentence segregation) and aggravation (criminal record and severe victim impact), applied appropriate concurrency and enhanced pre-sentence credit, and lawfully imposed an 18-month probation order; therefore the sentence is upheld.

Source excerpt

• Breach of probation
• Sentencing principles and totality
• Pre-sentence custody credit
• Aggravating factors (victim impact)
• Kienapple duplicity principle
• Restorative justice process

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R. v. Kleiman

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Sentence appeal dismissed for breach of probation; the Court upheld a three-year probation order with no-contact and electronic monitoring conditions.

• Breach of probation
• Probation conditions
• Electronic monitoring
• Mental disorder mitigation
• Not criminally responsible (s.16)
• Fresh evidence (palmer)

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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. Tang

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed a media request to release trial exhibit DVDs, finding that broadcasting them before a related future trial would risk prejudicing a fair jury trial.

• Release of court exhibits
• Publication ban (s.486.5)
• Dagenais/mentuck test
• Open court principle
• Fair trial and jury contamination
• Undercover officer identity protection

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R. v. Sipes

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held counsel must read aloud full prior-statement passages in front of the jury when relying on them for adoption, inconsistency, or interpretation, subject to narrow exceptions.

• Use of prior statements
• Cross-examination
• Judicial intervention
• Hearsay
• Jury fairness
• Publication ban (s.486.5)

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R. v. Sipes

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court granted a related accused access to trial transcripts, but only under strict conditions and a signed undertaking to protect witness safety.

• Transcript access
• Publication ban (s.486.5)
• Right to full answer and defence
• Witness safety
• Undertakings and conditions on disclosure
• Publication-ban

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R. v. Sipes

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held it could hear a Crown motion to dismiss defence O'Connor applications before service, but the Crown had not met the high threshold to do so.

• O'connor applications
• Third-party records
• Subpoena duces tecum
• Trial management
• Disclosure (stinchcombe)
• Publication ban (s.486.5)

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R. v. J.R.

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The trial judge’s detailed credibility findings and assessment of the complainant’s intoxication and incapacity to consent were supported by the evidence; there was no legal error in application of W.(D.) or the burden of proof and the convictions were reasonable; the two‑year custodial sentences were within the appropriate range and J.R.’s sentence was reduced by one day on consent while J.D.’s two‑year sentence was upheld.

Source excerpt

• Consent
• Intoxication
• Credibility assessment
• W.(d.) rule
• Honest but mistaken belief in consent
• Gladue factors

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