Canada Case Law

R. v. Da Silveira

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Given the aggravating factors (breach of trust, violence against intimate partner and child, presence of loaded firearm and bear spray, evidence of planning in making weapons accessible, significant victim impacts including PTSD in victims and children), and balancing mitigation (first offender, remediation while on remand, guilty pleas, cooperation), the appropriate aggregate custodial sentence was fixed at 8 years before credit but reduced under totality and Summers remand credit to a resultant effective term of 1,688 days (4 years, 7 months and 14 days). Sentence was allocated to counts as…

Source excerpt

• Sentencing
• Aggravated assault
• Unlawful confinement
• Reckless discharge of a firearm
• Pointing a firearm
• Threats to kill

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R. v. Buni

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court held that, viewed in the context of the entire record and counsel's submissions, the trial judge's reasons were adequate and the appellant's apology could properly be considered as confirmatory evidence in the absence of an alternative explanation; accordingly the convictions were upheld.

Source excerpt

• Aggravated assault
• Assault with a weapon
• Possession of a weapon
• Evidentiary issues
• Reasons for judgment

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R. v. Kueth

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Offender convicted of aggravated assault which qualifies as a serious personal injury offence and the Crown's evidentiary record (recent pattern of unprovoked knife attacks aimed at victims' necks, temporal clustering of offences after release, prior robberies with imitation firearm, long history of convictions and breaches, substance addiction, prior psychiatric opinion of moderate-to-high risk, and in-custody violence and drug use) gives reasonable grounds to believe the offender might be found a dangerous offender under ss.753(1)(a)(i) and (ii); accordingly s.752.1(1) preconditions are met…

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• Section 752.1 criminal code
• Dangerous offender designation
• Long-term offender
• Remand for expert assessment
• Aggravated assault

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R. v. McFarlane

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed a sentence appeal in R. v. McFarlane, holding that the sentencing judge properly weighed mental illness and harsh presentence custody conditions.

• Aggravated assault
• Presentence custody credit
• Mitigation for mental illness
• Weight of sentencing factors
• Leave to appeal
• Sentence-appeal

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R. v. Holder

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Vernon Rudolph Holder’s conviction appeal and sentence appeal, upholding findings on credibility, hearsay, and sentencing.

• Aggravated assault
• Assault with a weapon
• Hearsay - spontaneous utterances
• Credibility findings
• Downes credit for strict bail conditions
• Mode of trial

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R. v. Omar

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Judge found aggravating factors (deliberate, repeated knife attacks, invasion of victim's bedroom, injuries and weapon use) outweighed mitigating factors but noted provocation context and background; imposed four years six months for aggravated assault and three years for attempted break and enter to be served concurrently; awarded 54 days credit for pre-trial custody; ordered firearms prohibition, DNA order, forfeiture/destruction of knives and blood-stained clothing, transmission of reports to CSC, and a no-contact order while in custody.

Source excerpt

• Aggravated assault
• Attempted break and enter
• Concurrent sentencing
• Credit for pre-trial custody
• Ancillary orders (firearms prohibition, dna, forfeiture)
• Impact of race and culture evidence

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R. v. Doe

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed Fred Doe’s appeal from conviction, finding the trial judge gave adequate assistance to a self-represented accused and sufficient reasons on party liability.

• Self-representation
• Party liability (s.21 criminal code)
• Identification evidence
• Reasons for judgment
• Aggravated assault
• Firearms/imitation firearm offences

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R. v. B.F.

Court

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada restored B.F.’s attempted-murder conviction for her mother and upheld the convictions involving the child, finding no instructional error.

• Jury instructions
• Air of reality
• Actus reus
• Mens rea
• Aiding suicide
• Causation

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R. v. McCrae

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Sentencing decision for aggravated assault and disarming a peace officer, with one obstruction count stayed under Kienapple and consecutive custody terms imposed.

• Aggravated assault
• Disarming a peace officer
• Resisting or wilfully obstructing a police officer
• Kienapple principle (stay of proceedings)
• Pretrial custody credit
• Probation and ancillary orders

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R. v. LeRoy

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The court accepted the parties' negotiated joint submission, found the prerequisites of s.753.1 met on the basis of expert evidence (substantial risk of reoffending and reasonable possibility of eventual control), designated the offender a long-term offender, and imposed the agreed determinate sentence (10 years) to be served consecutive to existing sentences with a 10-year period of long-term supervision, concluding the joint submission did not bring the administration of justice into disrepute and did not offend totality or other sentencing principles.

Source excerpt

• Aggravated assault
• Kidnapping
• Robbery
• Pointing a firearm
• Long-term supervision
• Totality principle

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