Trial judges play many roles, but one of their main tasks is determining what evidence is admissible. As a rule, all relevant evidence is admissible. But how do trial judges determine relevance, and what can they not take into account? This was the main question in R v Schneider, 2022 SCC 34 [Schneider], which the […]
“The accused was entitled to a fair trial, not an endless one,” the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) asserted in the recent ruling, R v Samaniego, 2022 SCC 9 [Samaniego]. It is a cogent quote in defence of trial management power—a power that allows trial judges to control court processes to ensure […]
When can courts admit evidence obtained following breaches of an accused’s rights and freedoms under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]? In R v Beaver, 2020 ABCA 203 [Beaver], the Court of Appeal of Alberta (“ABCA” or “Court of Appeal'') ruled that courts can admit such evidence if a proper “fresh start” occurred […]
In Canada (Transportation Safety Board) v Carroll-Byrne, 2021 NSCA 34 [Carroll-Byrne], the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (“the Board”) sought to appeal the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia’s (“NSSC”) interlocutory decision (Carroll-Byrne v Air Canada, 2019 NSSC 339 [Air Canada]) to allow the conditional release of the contents of the cockpit voice recorder (“CVR”) of […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will refine its jurisprudence on extraterritorial applications of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [the Charter] when it hears Corporal C.R. McGregor v Her Majesty the Queen (SCC 39543). The bench is also expected to explore the s. 8 Charter right to be secure against unreasonable search or […]
An anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers points investigators toward a potential suspect that was involved in an armed robbery. However, what is the outcome when the robber was masked and the witnesses who testify are not, in the eyes of the trial judge, credible?
You are scrolling on your phone, making your daily social media rounds. You see something you would like to share with a friend, so you take a screenshot. This has become a habit in our social media consumption, as constant as “likes” and “shares.” However, imagine that those screenshots were to be used as evidence […]
[Content warning: this article contains discussion of sexual violence against women with disabilities]. When hearing the appeal in R v Slatter, 2019 ONCA 807 [Slatter (ONCA)], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) was presented with an opportunity to further the substantive equality rights of women with intellectual disabilities in the criminal justice system, and to […]
