Category: Criminal Page 6 of 39

Case Commented On: R v Turgeon-Myers, 2019 ABQB 493

In the heist film “Entrapment,” Mac, a professional thief (played by Sean Connery), says, “I don’t like surprises.” Gin, an undercover agent pretending to be a thief herself (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones), replies: “Trust me, there won’t be any.” Mac then replies: “Trust me, there always are surprises.” And there always are surprises.

At first glance, R v Turgeon-Myers, 2019 ABQB 493, may seem like a case about entrapment. Yet upon closer examination, a careful reader may be surprised to learn that there is an evidentiary issue beneath the issue of entrapment. Similar to my earlier blog article about the informant privilege, Turgeon-Myers involved a police informant. This informant provided the police with information about drug trafficking, and the police subsequently conducted an undercover operation to make an arrest. The accused, while initially admitting guilt, applied for a stay of proceedings on the basis of entrapment.

Does the Criminal Law Have the Capacity to Respond to the Intoxicated Automaton?

By Lisa Silver

On March 13, 2020

In Criminal

By: Lisa Silver

PDF Version: Does the Criminal Law Have the Capacity to Respond to the Intoxicated Automaton?

Case Commented On: R v Brown, 220 ABQB 166

I am at the point in my 1L criminal law class where we start talking about capacity issues, namely whether a person by virtue of mental disorder, automatism and/or intoxication has the capacity to commit a criminal offence. This is a complex and controversial area of the law. In discussing these issues, we criss-cross across the lines between legal, medical and policy concerns. We wade through case law stretching back decades that sometimes fundamentally change the common law and at other times hold strictly to it. Although each capacity issue involves detailed legal tests, when these issues arise together, the legal directions become overly complex and downright confusing. This “perfect storm” of capacity issues arise in the recent decision of R v Brown, 220 ABQB 166, challenging our legal conception of capacity and leaving us wondering whether the criminal law has the capacity to adequately respond.

When is Legal Aid Funding a Right in Criminal Cases?

By Serena Eshaghurshan

On February 3, 2020

In Criminal

By: Serena Eshaghurshan

PDF Version: When is Legal Aid Funding a Right in Criminal Cases?

Case Commented On: R v Acain, 2020 ABPC 6 (CanLII)

On December 10^th, 2019, the Honourable Judge L.R. Grieve of the Provincial Court of Alberta (ABPC) heard and rendered a decision on a Rowbotham application, which is an application made for court-ordered counsel. The Applicant, Rowel Acain, was charged with impaired driving related offences pursuant to sections 320.14(1)(a) and 320.12(1)(b) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46. Mr. Acain’s application for state-funded counsel was denied.

Legal Gaps Persist For Intimate Partner Sexual Violence After Key Ruling

By Jennifer Koshan

On January 30, 2020

In Criminal

By: Jennifer Koshan and Lise Gotell

PDF Version: Legal Gaps Persist For Intimate Partner Sexual Violence After Key Ruling

Case Commented On: R. v. Goldfinch, 2019 SCC 38 (CanLII)

It has been over 25 years since Supreme Court of Canada Justice Claire L’Heureux Dubé discredited the myth that rape is most often perpetrated by strangers in R v Seaboyer; R v Gayme, 1991 CanLII 76 (SCC), [1991] 2 SCR 577. Sexual violence by men against their female intimate partners is, sadly, a common occurrence in Canada and worldwide. Yet myths about spousal sexual violence – marital rape myths – continue to infuse the approach to sexual assault by a wide range of legal actors, including police, prosecutors, defence lawyers and judges.

These myths include the beliefs that consent can be assumed or implied within intimate relationships, that women frequently make false accusations to gain an advantage in family law proceedings, and that marital rape is less serious than rape between strangers because the parties have had sex before. Social science evidence has established that marital rape is often more violent, not less, that injuries are more commonly experienced, and that survivors experience higher rates of trauma.

Binding The Courts: The Use of Precedent in Sentencing Starting Points

By Lisa Silver

On December 16, 2019

In Criminal, Sentencing

By: Lisa Silver

PDF Version: Binding The Courts: The Use of Precedent in Sentencing Starting Points

Cases Commented On: R v Felix, 2019 ABCA 458; R v Parranto, 2019 ABCA 457

The Alberta Court of Appeal recently released two companion decisions on sentencing starting points in R v Felix, 2019 ABCA 458, and R v Parranto, 2019 ABCA 457. In Felix and Parranto, the Alberta Court of Appeal considers the appropriate sentencing starting point for an offender involved in the wholesale trafficking of fentanyl, an insidious and dangerous drug responsible for the deaths of many Albertans. These decisions are prime examples of how an appellate court grapples with precedential authority in arriving at the final outcome. In this post, I will discuss these cases as exemplars of this precedential process, which lies at the heart of the rule of law under our common law system. These decisions give us a glimpse of the complexities of precedent, in cases where there is no issue of whether precedent should be followed but rather on the issue of how best to follow it.

Category: Criminal Page 6 of 39

What is the Threshold for Entrapment?

Does the Criminal Law Have the Capacity to Respond to the Intoxicated Automaton?

When is Legal Aid Funding a Right in Criminal Cases?

Legal Gaps Persist For Intimate Partner Sexual Violence After Key Ruling

Binding The Courts: The Use of Precedent in Sentencing Starting Points