What happens to the accused when a jury is incorrectly advised, leading to the accused’s conviction? The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) addresses this question in R v Riley, 2020 SCC 31 [Riley] by reaffirming the dissenting judge's reasons at the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal assessing the Vetrovec instruction and its significance within the […]
Among the more controversial areas of Canadian evidence law are confessions obtained through “Mr. Big” operations. This unique investigative tactic involves the creation of an elaborate but fictitious criminal organization that recruits the suspect of a cold case to join its ranks. Over the course of several “scenarios,” the participating undercover police officers engage the […]
Henry v British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 BCCA 15, was recently granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”). In 1983, Mr. Henry was wrongfully convicted of 17 sexual offences, for which he spent more than 27 years in jail. He was declared a dangerous offender and would have been incarcerated for […]