In August 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear Raed Jaser’s latest appeal in the high-profile terrorism prosecution arising from the 2013 VIA Rail plot. As is customary in leave to appeal decisions, no reasons were provided.
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will soon hear the appeal of R v Chizanga, 2024 ONCA 545 [Chizanga], in which it will opine on the principles of admitting evidence of prior discreditable conduct [41405]. Building upon the seminal case of R v Handy, 2002 SCC 56 [Handy] which set out the principles for the admissibility of such evidence, this appeal […]
In R v Abdullahi, 2023 SCC 19 [Abdullahi], Canada’s highest court made a 6-1 ruling that an Ontario trial judge erred in law by insufficiently instructing the jury of the legal definition of “criminal organization” per s. 467.1(1) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 [Code] or [Criminal Code]. This decision is important for […]
In a rare unanimous judgement, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has ruled in R v Haevischer, 2023 SCC 11 (Haevischer) that only “manifestly frivolous” applications can be summarily dismissed in the criminal law context. The decision is significant for two reasons: (1) it arises out of the notorious “Surrey Six” case; and (2) it […]
In R v Hanan, 2023 SCC 12 [Hanan], the Supreme Court (“SCC”) found that transitional exceptional circumstances did not excuse an excess delay of proceedings under s 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]. Facts On December 23, 2015, the accused was charged with first degree murder, attempted murder, and firearms-related […]
When the police investigate crime over the internet, they do so on a tightrope, perilously close to tumbling into privacy violation, random virtue testing, or worst of all, entrapment. At the end of 2022, in four related appeals, the Supreme Court of Canada considered these dangers and the validity of internet-based sting operations. The bulk […]
The relationship between an accused and their defence lawyer is a crucial one; the performance of the defence lawyer can determine whether the accused is given the best defence possible during their criminal proceedings. In R v White, 2022 SCC 7 [White SCC], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or "the Court") considered whether a […]
Introduction Criminal law is oftentimes understood as an outcome-oriented field of law, wherein procedure in the criminal justice system is ultimately aimed at achieving an outcome – guilty or not guilty. However, the procedure to obtain a conviction is just as important, if not even more significant, than the conviction itself. If procedure utilized in […]
How should criminal courts account for the existence of systemic and pervasive anti-Black racism when sentencing Black offenders? This is the question that the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal (“NSCA”) grappled with in R v Anderson, 2021 NSCA 62 [Anderson]. More specifically, the appellate court examined how evidence from ‘Impact of Race and Culture Assessments’ […]
Introduction Generally, a criminal matter in Canada can only have two outcomes: (1) an accused is found not guilty and acquitted or (2) found guilty, whereby a conviction is entered. However, in R v R.V., 2021 SCC 10 [R.V.] the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") clarifies what happens in a scenario where an accused is […]