Anita Szigeti

An appeal from a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated November 17, 2017.

The appellant sought an absolute discharge or, alternatively, a conditional discharge.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that counsel had conceded at the hearing before the Board that an absolute discharge was not being sought, and that the evidence fully justified this concession.

The court found no air of reality to the conditional discharge argument, noting that the instability of the appellant's condition was a central concern of the psychiatrists and required ongoing treatment and monitoring.

An appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board that continued his detention at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health under a hybrid order requiring detention in the Secure Forensic Unit with discretion to transfer to the General Forensic Unit.

The appellant had been found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for attacks on strangers in 2007.

The Board found the appellant continued to pose a significant threat to public safety but was considering a treatment plan involving transfer to a more supportive general unit with behavioural programs.

The Court of Appeal found the Board's disposition unreasonable given the identified treatment impasse, the appellant's advancing age and declining health, and the lack of meaningful progress.

The appeal was allowed and the matter was remitted for an independent assessment and rehearing.

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code from a disposition order of the Ontario Review Board.

The appellant was found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder for arson and failure to comply with a probation order.

The Board ordered continued detention on the general forensic unit of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.

The appellant sought an absolute discharge, alternatively a conditional discharge.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's refusal of an absolute discharge but found the Board's reasoning for refusing a conditional discharge was unreasonable and remitted the matter for reconsideration of whether a conditional discharge was appropriate.

An appeal from two dispositions of the Ontario Review Board concerning a person found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder.

The appellant challenged the Board's May 23, 2017 conditional discharge order and its August 11, 2017 detention order, arguing both were unreasonable and that the August 11 order resulted from procedural unfairness and reasonable apprehension of bias.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal from the May 23 order as moot and upheld the August 11 detention order, finding it was reasonable based on the appellant's relapse into drug use, violent behavior, and non-compliance with medication and reporting requirements.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition concerning an NCR (not criminally responsible) accused who had been under the Board's supervision since 2005 following a nonviolent offence committed during a psychotic episode.

The Board concluded the appellant remained a significant threat to public safety and ordered his transfer from CAMH to St. Joseph's Mental Health Care.

The appellant challenged both the finding of significant threat and the Board's failure to consider a conditional discharge.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's finding that the appellant posed a significant threat but found the Board erred in failing to consider whether a conditional discharge was the least onerous and least restrictive disposition available.

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code against the Ontario Review Board's disposition dated November 16, 2017.

The appellant was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in 2012 for criminal harassment and failure to comply with a recognizance.

The Board found the appellant remained a significant risk to public safety due to his psychotic disorder, active substance use disorder, lack of prosocial behaviour and motivation, and continued use of marijuana despite clinical advice against it.

The Board imposed a conditional discharge with detention order provisions.

The appellant appealed, arguing the Board erred in finding he constituted a significant threat and failed to provide adequate reasons.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding it reasonable and supported by unanimous opinion of the treatment team.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition concerning an individual found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder.

The appellant sought an absolute discharge after nearly ten years of detention at a psychiatric hospital, while the hospital sought increased security.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's finding that the appellant posed a significant risk to public safety based on her history of assaultive behavior, substance abuse, and recent violent incidents.

However, the court found the Board erred by failing to make mandatory its recommendation for independent professional review and a customized treatment plan aimed at eventual community reintegration, given the appellant's prolonged detention without progress and the risk that continued hospitalization may be counter-therapeutic.

An appellant appealed the Ontario Review Board's disposition continuing his conditional discharge on terms.

The appellant had been found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in 2006 for assault causing bodily harm and mischief.

The Board found the appellant remained a significant threat to public safety based on his lack of insight into his mental illness, his unwillingness to take medication absent a Board order, his continued residual symptoms despite medication, his history of marijuana use leading to clinical worsening, and threatening statements made in 2015.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding the conclusion that a foreseeable and substantial risk existed was reasonable on the evidence.

An appeal from a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated May 24, 2017.

The appellant, found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for robbery in 2010, challenged the Board's decision to impose a detention disposition rather than a conditional discharge.

The appellant argued that a conditional discharge with treatment conditions could manage his risk as effectively as detention.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's disposition, finding that the Board correctly applied the legal test and that its conclusion was reasonable given the appellant's recent deterioration, non-compliance with conditions, medication non-adherence, and the limitations of the Mental Health Act in managing his risk.

The appellant, an NCR accused with schizoaffective disorder and polysubstance use disorder in remission, appealed the Ontario Review Board's decision to order a conditional discharge rather than an absolute discharge.

The Board had imposed a requirement that the appellant demonstrate a 12-month drug-free period before obtaining absolute discharge, citing substance abuse as the critical risk factor.

The Court of Appeal found the Board had misdirected itself by shifting the burden of proof to the appellant and by relying on speculative evidence of risk rather than evidence demonstrating a significant threat to public safety.

The court allowed the appeal and ordered an absolute discharge.

Two appellants, both found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder and incapable of consenting to medical treatment under provincial law, appealed detention orders imposed by the Ontario Review Board.

The central issue was whether an accused person incapable of consenting to medical treatment could nonetheless consent to a condition regarding psychiatric or other treatment under section 672.55(1) of the Criminal Code.

The Court of Appeal held that the capacity required to consent to such a condition differs from the capacity required to consent to the treatment itself.

An accused need only understand information relevant to the operation of the condition and appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of agreeing to it, including potential consequences for liberty.

The Court overruled its prior jurisprudence to the contrary and allowed the appeals, remitting the matters back to the Board for re-hearing.

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code from a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated February 24, 2017.

The appellant sought a conditional discharge, arguing it was the least onerous and least restrictive disposition necessary to protect the public.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision to impose a detention order with community living privileges at the discretion of the hospital, finding that the Board reasonably determined this was the least onerous and least restrictive disposition given the appellant's admitted risk to public safety, history of non-compliance with medication, alcohol use, and pattern of rule violations.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition concerning an NCR accused person's Charter rights.

The appellant sought systemic remedies from the Board for violations of his section 8 Charter right arising from unauthorized seizure of urine samples.

The Board found the Charter violation but declined to grant systemic remedies, determining it lacked jurisdiction to do so.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, holding that while the Board has jurisdiction to determine Charter issues and grant individual remedies, it does not have jurisdiction to impose broad systemic or institutional orders.

The Board's mandate is limited to supervising individual NCR accused persons and ensuring their conditions are least onerous and restrictive consistent with public safety.

The appellant appealed a disposition issued by the Ontario Review Board that imposed additional restrictions on his community access, reducing his indirectly supervised community access to a maximum of four hours with an approved itinerary and reducing day passes from seven days indirectly supervised to three days directly supervised.

The appellant challenged the disposition on multiple grounds, including that it was not the least onerous and least restrictive disposition, that the Board failed to carry out its inquisitorial mandate, that the Board focused exclusively on public safety, that a treatment impasse existed requiring Board intervention, and that the Board failed to consult the complete risk assessment report.

The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal and upheld the Board's disposition.

An NCR accused appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board that found him to be a significant threat to public safety and ordered his continued detention with community living privileges.

The appellant, a 37-year-old with bipolar disorder and a lengthy criminal history, sought an absolute discharge.

The Board's majority relied on evidence that the appellant's marijuana use was potentially linked to hypomanic symptoms and could lead to a full manic episode, during which he might pose a risk of violent behavior.

The Court of Appeal found the Board's conclusion unreasonable, noting that despite a substantial risk of substance abuse and reoffending, the appellant had not committed an act of violence since 2004 and the Board's concerns were speculative and insufficiently grounded in evidence to meet the high threshold for "significant threat to public safety."

The Crown appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board regarding Bartosz Gajewski, raising two grounds: (1) that a condition allowing indirectly supervised or unaccompanied entry into the community for up to seven days was unreasonable and did not protect public safety, and (2) that the Board's failure to include the victim's father (J.N.) in a 500-metre boundary condition was unreasonable.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the first ground, finding the Board's disposition reasonably supported by the evidence and noting that the Crown had not opposed the condition at the hearing.

The Court allowed the second ground in part, ordering that J.N. be included in the 500-metre boundary condition.

An appeal of an Ontario Review Board disposition ordering that a person found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder remain on the secure forensic unit of a hospital.

The appellant sought an absolute or conditional discharge.

The Board found the appellant posed a significant risk to public safety based on his lack of insight into his mental illness, likelihood of non-compliance with medication, and psychological testing indicating high risk of psychotic relapse and violent behaviour.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's disposition as reasonable and dismissed the appeal.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition ordering continued detention of an NCR accused at a maximum security forensic psychiatric facility.

The appellant was found not criminally responsible for attempted murder of his former psychiatrist and had been detained since 2006.

The appellant refused to engage in treatment and maintained a negative view of mental health workers.

The Court of Appeal upheld the board's finding that the appellant posed a significant threat to public safety but found that the board erred in failing to recognize a treatment impasse after a decade of no progress.

The court ordered a new hearing to consider an independent assessment and alternative treatment approaches.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering his continued detention at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.

The appellant, found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for assault, argued that he had reached a treatment impasse at Waypoint and sought an independent assessment and transfer to a less secure facility.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the evidence did not substantiate the existence of a treatment impasse and that the Board's decision to maintain detention at Waypoint was well-supported by evidence regarding the appellant's risk to public safety, including his history of water intoxication, threats to staff, and previous elopement from other facilities.

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code against a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated April 27, 2016.

The appellant raised two grounds of appeal: first, that the Board should have made further inquiries regarding the cause of the appellant's psychosis (whether from liver disease or bipolar disorder), and second, that the Board erred in rejecting conditions regarding community access and an approved person.

The Court of Appeal dismissed both grounds, finding no error in the Board's acceptance of the joint position that the appellant remained a significant risk to public safety and no error in the Board's decision to impose more limited community access conditions at that time.