APPEAL WATCH: SCC to Opine on Fitness to Stand Trial Test
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (“ONCA”) has re-emphasised that capacity for rational decision-making has no place in the test for fitness to stand trial. In its ruling in R...
Category: Criminal Law
Appeal Watch: Guilt and Conviction for Lesser Included Offences
In R v Wolfe, 2022 SKCA 132 [Wolfe], the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal (“SKCA”) affirmed that part VIII.1 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 [Code] grants judges the...
How Long is Too Long? SCC Interprets “Forthwith” Requirement for Breath Sample Demands
In R v Breault, 2023 SCC 9 [Breault], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) settled a long-running dispute regarding the flexibility of the immediacy requirement in situations where a police...
R v Abdullahi: The (In)Flexibility of the Appellate Review of Jury Instructions
In R v Abdullahi, 2023 SCC 19 [Abdullahi], Canada’s highest court made a 6-1 ruling that an Ontario trial judge erred in law by insufficiently instructing the jury of the...
