Darilynn Allison

The Attorney General for Ontario applied ex parte for certiorari with mandamus to quash a Justice of the Peace's refusal to issue a production order against textPlus, Inc., a US-based company with a virtual presence in Canada.

The Superior Court found that the Justice of the Peace committed jurisdictional errors and errors of law by concluding that the order could not be enforced and by failing to follow binding horizontal precedent regarding virtual presence.

The Court granted the application, quashed the refusal, and compelled the Ontario Court of Justice to issue the production order.

The accused, charged with first-degree murder, brought pre-trial applications to exclude evidence under the Charter and challenge the voluntariness of a statement.

The accused argued that a brief interaction with police in a stairwell months before the murder constituted an arbitrary detention, and that obtaining his phone number from Ontario Works violated his s. 8 rights.

The court found that the stairwell encounter was a brief, consensual interaction that did not amount to a detention, and the statement was voluntary.

The court also held that the accused had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his phone number obtained from Ontario Works.

The applications were dismissed and the evidence was ruled admissible.

The accused, charged with homicide, brought an application to adduce evidence that a third party was the true perpetrator.

The defence argued the alternate suspect had opportunity, motive, propensity, and was identified as the shooter.

The court dismissed the application, finding no sufficient connection between the alternate suspect and the crime, as the evidence for opportunity, motive, propensity, and identification was seriously lacking or completely absent.