Category: Criminal Page 30 of 39

Case commented on: R v Myette, 2013 ABCA 371

To what degree should courts accommodate the circumstances of persons with disabilities whose crimes attract jail sentences? The Alberta Court of Appeal recently divided on this issue in R v Myette, 2013 ABCA 371. At the original sentencing hearing, Judge Heather Lamoureux found that a jail sentence would be “unduly harsh” in light of Myette’s visual impairment, and ordered a suspended sentence of 18 months for sexual assault and common assault (2013 ABPC 89 at para 16). A majority of the Court of Appeal (Justices Constance Hunt and Jack Watson) found her approach to be erroneous, and substituted a sentence of 90 days in jail, to be served intermittently on weekends. Justice Peter Martin, writing in dissent, would have dismissed the Crown’s appeal. This post will review the various decisions in this case with a focus on whether sentencing decisions are the proper forum for accommodating the circumstances of offenders with disabilities.

Prosecutorial Discretion and Solicitor-Client Costs

By Alice Woolley

On October 9, 2013

In Criminal, Ethics and the Legal Profession

PDF Version: Prosecutorial Discretion and Solicitor-Client Costs

Case commented on: R v Leonard, 2013 ABQB 531

In R v Leonard, 2013 ABQB 531, Justice Thomas awarded solicitor-client costs against the Crown on the basis that the Crown continued with the prosecution of Leonard after the point where it “should have realized it had no realistic basis to continue” (at para 97). He did so after rejecting an application by the Crown that he should recuse himself. The Crown had argued for recusal because Justice Thomas had tried the underlying criminal case and, in the course of doing so, had reserved jurisdiction to award costs, had suggested that the Crown’s conduct warranted review by the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta, and had emphasized the weakness of the Crown’s case.

Domestic Violence Cases: A Summer Snapshot

By Jennifer Koshan

On September 5, 2013

In Criminal, State Responses to Violence

PDF Version: Domestic Violence Cases: A Summer Snapshot

Cases commented on: R v Hooker, 2013 ABQB 271; R v Bandesha, 2013 ABCA 255

There were a number of reported Alberta cases involving domestic violence this summer. The decisions collectively illustrate the broad range of issues that can arise in domestic violence cases – for example, constitutional, criminal and family law issues – some of which may now be heard by specialized domestic violence courts. They also show a range of sensitivities on the part of judges to the realities of domestic violence. In this post I will comment on two of the cases, both arising in the criminal context, and in a subsequent post I will comment on two cases arising in the family law context.

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Blurred Lines: The Need for Clear Criteria in the Sentencing of Sexual Assaults

By Joshua Sealy-Harrington

On September 3, 2013

In Criminal, State Responses to Violence

PDF Version: Blurred Lines: The Need for Clear Criteria in the Sentencing of Sexual Assaults

Case commented on: R v Sam, 2013 ABCA 174

What is a “major sexual assault” for the purposes of applying sentencing guidelines in sexual assault cases? Its current definition is unclear. The Alberta Court of Appeal missed an opportunity to provide a concrete definition for major sexual assault in R v Sam, 2013 ABCA 174. This comment will begin by providing background on Sam, and describing how the Court of Appeal did not directly address the issue of major sexual assault in that case. Then, I will discuss how the Court of Appeal should clarify the relevance of violence and de facto consent to sexual assault at the stage of sentencing. Finally, I will argue that factors that are irrelevant to legal culpability for sexual assault may still be relevant at the stage of sentencing.

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Roundtable on Ontario v Criminal Lawyers’ Association of Ontario

By Alice Woolley

On August 30, 2013

In Access to Justice, Criminal

PDF Version: Roundtable on Ontario v Criminal Lawyers’ Association of Ontario

Cases Considered: Ontario v Criminal Lawyers’ Association of Ontario, 2013 SCC 43

On August 13, 2013, Faculty of Law hosted its last Roundtable discussion of the summer. That discussion focused on the Supreme Court of Canada’s August 1^st decision in Ontario v Criminal Lawyers’ Association of Ontario, 2013 SCC 43 concerning the compensation to be paid to a lawyer appointed to act as a “friend of the court”, known as an amicus curiae. Participants included faculty members, researchers from the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre, JD and graduate students, and a post-doc fellow. What participants found most controversial about the decision was not the court’s 5:4 split on the compensation issue, but rather the court’s unanimity on the inappropriateness — and henceforth, presumably, inability — of courts to appoint amicus curiae to act as de facto defence counsel.