Articles 2020

Crystal Tomusiak offers a pithy analysis of three recent appellate decisions.

It has been 36 years since the Ontario Court of Appeal released R. v. Scheel on the admissibility of summaries and charts in the place of original evidence. Bob Hubbard and Michael Fawcett offer a well-researched reminder that the Scheel principle is alive and well and a valuable tool for reducing the complexity of today's trials.

Oscar Pistorius' heavily publicized trial featured dramatic exchanges between prosecutor and defendant. In this well-sourced article, renowned defence counsel Frank Addario asks, "Did Oscar get a fair trial?"

The law of hearsay underwent a sea change in 2006 with the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. Khelawon. John McInnes argued that case (and other SCC hearsay cases such as R. v Rojas, R. v Baldree, R. v Van). In this article John discusses the Khelawon decision, its impact at the time, and where we stand eight years later.

Struggling to find time to read recent Supreme Court of Canada judgments? Vincenzo Rondinelli has condensed the latest SCC judgments to bite-sized consumption – 6 words to be exact – to keep you up to date. Here’s the latest instalment for the month of September, 2014.

Friedman updates us on a very interesting and high profile first degree murder trial that spans two continents: the U.K. and Africa. The Shrien Dewani case is a fascinating read and we hope our summer readers will enjoy.

Ryan Handlarski reviews the defence of self-defence prior to and post the recent amendments to the Criminal Code. He focusses on a difficult area of the law – an area that cuts to the core of our duties to defend the rights of innocent individuals – no matter how unsavoury they may be. Mr. Handlarski makes a convincing argument that the law has changed and for the better.

Senior defence counsel Paul Calarco continues his review of the appeal courts’ most interesting and relevant decisions for the month of June 2014.