A. Tenhouse

The offender was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder for the brutal killing of a vulnerable 75-year-old woman in her apartment.

The Crown sought a parole ineligibility period of 18-20 years, while the defence argued for 12-15 years.

The court considered the horrific nature of the attack, the vulnerability of the victim, the offender's lack of prior record, and his mental health issues.

Emphasizing denunciation and deterrence, the court sentenced the offender to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 17 years.

The accused, charged with second-degree murder, brought a Charter application to exclude his police interview, alleging breaches of his s. 10(a) and 10(b) rights.

The arresting officer initially informed the accused he was arrested for unrelated offences, delaying mention of the homicide investigation for seven minutes to avoid upsetting the accused's family.

The court dismissed the application, finding no Charter breach as the accused was subsequently informed of his true jeopardy and provided his right to counsel multiple times, constituting a 'fresh start'.

The court further held that even if a breach occurred, the evidence was not obtained in a manner that infringed the Charter, and would be admissible under s. 24(2).

The accused, charged with second-degree murder, brought an application to sit at counsel table rather than in the prisoner's dock during his trial.

The court reviewed conflicting jurisprudence on the issue and preferred the line of cases holding that the dock is the customary position for an accused.

The court found that seating the accused in the dock does not infringe the presumption of innocence, avoids the prejudice of having multiple security officers surrounding the accused at counsel table, and ensures the accused remains visible to the jury.

The application was dismissed.

The offender was convicted by a jury of two counts of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of discharging a firearm with intent, arising from a shooting outside a Toronto nightclub.

The Crown sought 20 years of parole ineligibility, while the defence sought 15 years.

The court considered the devastating impact on the victims' families and the community, the aggravating factor of using a loaded handgun in a crowded public place, and the mitigating factors of the offender's youth and lack of a prior criminal record.

The court sentenced the offender to life imprisonment with parole ineligibility set at 20 years for the murders, and concurrent seven-year sentences for the other offences.

The offender was convicted of second degree murder and manslaughter following a public shooting outside a nightclub.

The offender, who was involved in drug trafficking and habitually carried a firearm, shot and killed an innocent peacemaker and then shot and killed a second victim who attempted to prevent his escape.

The court sentenced the offender to life imprisonment with an 18-year period of parole ineligibility for the second degree murder, and a concurrent 15-year sentence for the manslaughter, emphasizing denunciation and the aggravating factor of the offender's involvement in the drug trade.

The accused, charged with first degree murder, brought an application to exclude sworn jurors from the courtroom during the challenge for cause process using rotating triers.

The Crown argued that recent appellate jurisprudence eliminated the trial judge's inherent jurisdiction to exclude sworn jurors.

The court held that it retained the common law discretion to exclude sworn jurors, as the Criminal Code is silent on the matter.

The court exercised its discretion to exclude the sworn jurors to prevent them from sitting idly in court for up to a week while the remainder of the jury was selected, which would diminish respect for the process.

In a first-degree murder trial, the applicants (accused) brought an application to adduce evidence of an alternate suspect.

The Crown moved to dismiss the application summarily.

The court dismissed the application on two grounds: first, for severe non-compliance with the Criminal Proceedings Rules regarding the filing of materials and factums; and second, because the proposed evidence lacked an 'air of reality' and failed to establish any sufficient connection, motive, means, or propensity linking the proposed third party to the murder.

The applicants, charged with first degree murder, brought a motion to adduce evidence at trial of a known third party as an alternate suspect.

The Crown alleged the applicants conspired to kill the deceased for insurance proceeds.

The applicants sought to introduce evidence that the deceased's former common-law partner had motive and opportunity to commit the murder.

The court applied the test for third-party suspect evidence, requiring a sufficient connection between the third party and the crime.

The court found the proposed evidence lacked direct connection, relied on hearsay, and failed to establish motive, means, or propensity.

The motion to adduce the alternate suspect evidence was dismissed.

The applicant, charged with second degree murder following an inmate assault at the Toronto Don Jail, sought judicial interim release.

A previous bail application was dismissed due to concerns about the proposed sureties' ability to supervise him.

Despite proposing a new surety and a relocation to Aurora, the court found the applicant failed to establish that his detention was not justified on the secondary ground, citing his past failure to abide by his family's direction and his recent conviction for serious firearms offences.

The application for bail was dismissed.