A. Monaco

The Crown brought an application for certiorari and mandamus to quash a preliminary inquiry judge's order discharging the respondents on charges of attempted murder following a gunfight outside a convenience store.

The preliminary inquiry judge had found insufficient evidence of intent to kill.

The Superior Court of Justice held that the preliminary inquiry judge committed jurisdictional error by impermissibly weighing circumstantial evidence, failing to prefer the inference most favourable to the Crown, and failing to consider the evidence as a whole.

The application was allowed, the discharge order was quashed, and mandamus was granted directing the committal of both respondents to stand trial for attempted murder.

The defendants were convicted of recklessly discharging a restricted firearm, and one defendant was additionally convicted of drug trafficking and other firearm offences.

The court determined that the five-year mandatory minimum penalty applied to the discharge offence.

After considering aggravating factors, mitigating factors including harsh pre-sentence custody conditions at the Toronto South Detention Centre, and the principle of totality, the court sentenced Mr. Jama to five years (reduced to four years, three months, and three weeks after credit) and Mr. Farah to a total of six years and 10.5 months (reduced to two years less a day after credit, plus probation).

The five defendants were charged with numerous offences including drug trafficking, firearms possession, discharging a firearm, and criminal organization offences arising from a lengthy police investigation known as Project Patton.

The Crown relied heavily on intercepted communications.

The court found several defendants guilty of various drug trafficking and firearms possession charges, as well as discharging a firearm in relation to a March 24, 2018 shooting.

However, the court acquitted the defendants of attempted murder, the April 30, 2018 shooting, and the criminal organization charges, finding insufficient evidence of structure to constitute a criminal organization and reasonable doubt regarding the identity of the shooter in the April incident.

The offender pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his mother and the first-degree murders of his grandmother, sister, and father.

He killed his family members to prevent them from discovering he had dropped out of college.

The court accepted a joint submission, sentencing the offender to life imprisonment on all counts with consecutive parole ineligibility periods resulting in a total of 40 years before he can apply for parole.

The applicant, charged with second-degree murder, brought an application challenging the constitutionality of the recent Criminal Code amendments that abolished peremptory challenges during jury selection.

The applicant relied on a recent decision by a judge of coordinate jurisdiction that found the amendments unconstitutional.

The court held that it was not bound by the prior decision and found it to be plainly wrong.

The court concluded that the elimination of peremptory challenges does not violate the right to a fair trial, an impartial jury, or the principles of fundamental justice, as other safeguards such as challenge for cause and the enhanced stand-aside power remain in place.

The application was dismissed and the legislation was upheld as constitutional.

The accused was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon after police found a loaded handgun tucked into his waistband during a high-risk vehicle stop.

The accused raised a 'hot potato' defence, claiming the driver of the vehicle suddenly tossed the gun onto his lap as police approached, and he reacted by hiding it in his pants out of fear of being shot.

The court rejected the accused's evidence as implausible and inconsistent with the observations of multiple police officers who maintained constant surveillance of the vehicle.

The court found the accused guilty on both counts, concluding he had actual knowing possession and control of the concealed firearm.