Intoxication

R v Sullivan: SCC will hear constitutional challenge on the prohibition of the extreme intoxication defence

In December, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “The Court”) granted the Crown leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s (“ONCA”) ruling in R v Sullivan, 2020 ONCA 333 [Sullivan]. In this jointly-heard case, the ONCA ruled that s. 33.1 of the Criminal Code, RSC, 1985 c C-46 [the Code]—which prohibits self-induced intoxication […]

R v Tatton: The Confounding Distinction between Specific and General Intent

The Supreme Court of Canada’s (“SCC”) recent decision in R v Tatton, 2015 SCC 33 [Tatton] takes place in the context of a larger and more protracted debate about the defence of intoxication. In what cases, if any, can a self-induced state of intoxication negate intent, and provide an accused with a full acquittal? Courts […]