On May 14, 2010 the SCC released its judgment in R. v. Hurley, 2010 SCC 18, which addresses the current state of the law with respect to Vetrovec warnings. In the proceeding, the prosecution relied on the testimony of a jailhouse informant who had a motive to lie and was thus considered to be lacking [...]

Last Friday, the Supreme Court delivered its ruling in R. v. Jaw, 2009 SCC 42, the second in so many months considering the potentially prejudicial effects of erroneous jury instructions. The issues on appeal and holding of the court are not the most compelling, both being construed rather narrowly to a specific set of facts. The [...]

Defining the Criminal Standard of Proof A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court released judgment in R. v. Layton, 2009 SCC 36, an appeal seeking definitive instruction on how trial judges should explain to juries the criminal standard of proof “beyond a reasonable doubt”. Although these words are commonly used in everyday parlance, they assume [...]