Criminal Defence
Wow! An acquittal on a SA trial in R v Harnett, 2022 ABQB 213 following a 6-day trial. The 42-page decision outlines the allegations in detail and notes significant inconsistencies and discrepancies with the complainant’s narrative, as well as text and other post-incident contact casting doubt on her narrative. The trial followed a 37-page decision …
Continue reading “Weekly criminal law update – March 22, 2022”
An ONCA majority overturns a conviction for first-degree murder for both appellants, due to trial judge not giving jury the options of a conviction for second-degree murder or manslaughter. This despite trial defence counsel agreeing with the charge that only first degree murder was appropriate (see paras. 47-48). Dissenting opinion by MacPherson JA, agreeing with …
Continue reading “Weekly criminal law update – March 13, 2022”
I’m hopeful of doing a weekly criminal law roundup or update. I may set this up as an email, too, through Mailchimp. Nice language re “myths” at para. 44 of solid acquittal: “Surely, if evidence that the complainant ran from the scene in a distraught state can be used to corroborate her story, evidence that …
Continue reading “Weekly criminal law update – March 6, 2022”
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the role Law Societies play in regulating the opinions expressed by lawyers. Lawyers are required to be “respectful” of tribunals and courts, yet they’re also required to be critical of injustice when they see it. How does one reconcile these sometimes-conflicting duties, and who decides what behaviour is …
Continue reading “Policing Thoughtcrime: The Role of Law Societies?”
“And with the greatest respect, my lord, I submit that the jury listening to your charge could not help but get the impression that you consider a verdict of guilty was warranted on the evidence,” Steven’s lawyer said. It was as close to calling a judge biased as a lawyer could go. The judge’s five-word …
Continue reading “The Trial of Steven Truscott – How Little has Changed since 1959”
I recently watched OsgoodePD’s 2021 Symposium on Sexual Assault available here – not inexpensive, but quite worthwhile. I enjoyed most of it. My favourite part was by far the “debate” between Professor Melanie Randall (“Randall”) and Alan Gold. Randall is a law professor out of Western, and Gold is a legendary criminal defence lawyer (and …
Continue reading ““What Worries Me (Most) About Sexual Assault Prosecutions””
We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. ― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.] I’ve been watching excellent seminars from Professor Sankoff recently. As always, incredible quality and …
Continue reading “The Presumption of Guilt in Sexual Offence Trials in Canada”
Given the recent awareness of wrongful convictions (triggered by the recent discovery of who the likely perpetrator was in the wrongful conviction case of Guy Morin), I thought I’d have a look at articles about sexual assault. I’ve recently been able to access criminal law articles through WestLaw. I’m excited to read many articles I’ve …
I thought I’d address some common problems in litigation of sexual offence charges. The most common problems, I’d suggest, are prior consistent statements, bad character evidence, and a presumption of truthfulness (explicitly stated or otherwise) being ascribed to the complainant. I’ll discuss these – along with concerns about s. 276 and conviction rates – below. …
However, this great, impersonal awesome machinery has one built-in bias. It is an unconscious, functional bias, somewhat like an aircraft’s bias for leaving the ground as soon as it has attained a certain speed. The bias of the justice system is to find guilt. That is, first, to define any human act that comes to …
Moldofsky Law 