Recent case law
Switching between defence and Crown – interview with Law Times
When I trace a path through my career as a criminal lawyer, it is interesting to see how many times I have moved from being a defence lawyer to a Crown and back again. I’m not alone in that: the criminal bar in Ontario is made of many lawyers who have switched sides, sometimes on more than one occasion. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I believe that it is one of the qualities that makes the Ontario criminal bar so respected in the profession and by the courts. We understand the other side, can discuss issues to work them out, and have knowledge about how the other side will approach a given case – because many of us have been on the other side.
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R. v. Anderson: Notice of Increased Penalty; Aboriginal Offenders
On June 6, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada released its unanimous decision in R. v. Anderson, 2014 SCC 41. The case dealt with two issues: 1) potential constitutional issues related to the sentencing of aboriginal offenders, and 2) Crown discretion in seeking increased minimum sentences due to prior convictions.
To summarize, the Supreme Court of Canada made two specific rulings:
- The Crown is not required to take into account a person’s aboriginal background when exercising their discretion.
- When the Crown exercises its discretion to rely on a person’s prior convictions for the purpose of an increased minimum sentence, the Court cannot overrule the Crown’s discretion (unless it is an abuse of process)
Before reviewing the case, though, it is useful to review the legal background that led to this decision.
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