David D’Iorio

The applicant brought a Charter application alleging breaches of his s. 10(b) right to counsel following his arrest during a dynamic entry.

The court found the police breached the informational component by delaying the reading of rights for 20 minutes despite having control of the scene.

The court also found an implementational breach when police refused the applicant's request for a second consultation with counsel after he expressed dissatisfaction with duty counsel.

Applying the Grant framework, the court excluded the applicant's statements to police.

The offender pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a loaded prohibited firearm.

During a preliminary inquiry, a special constable used excessive force by kneeing the offender in the face while he was being escorted to an isolation cell.

The court accepted a joint submission for a global sentence of four years' imprisonment.

After applying enhanced credit for harsh pre-sentence custody conditions (triple-bunking) and a six-month reduction for the state misconduct, the sentence was reduced to time served.

The offender was found guilty of assault and assault with a weapon against his 12- and 13-year-old daughter.

The Crown sought 3 to 6 months of jail, while the defence sought a conditional discharge to avoid the offender losing his employment.

The court declined to grant a discharge, emphasizing the principles of denunciation and deterrence for child abuse by a parent.

The offender was sentenced to 60 days of jail to be served intermittently, followed by 18 months of probation.

The decision concerns a "faint hope" application by Timothy Belisle, convicted of first-degree murder, seeking a reduction in his parole ineligibility period after serving 15 years.

The court reviews the legislative history and legal standards for faint hope applications, the applicant’s background, conduct, and rehabilitation efforts, as well as the positions of both parties.

Ultimately, the court finds that Mr. Belisle has not demonstrated a reasonable prospect of success before a jury and dismisses the application.

The three accused, Anand Nath, Suliman Raza, and Naqash Abbasi, were found guilty of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder with a firearm following a shooting at a restaurant.

The court considered whether the offense constituted a terrorism offense, finding that while the motive clause (political, religious, or ideological purpose) was met, the intention clause (to intimidate the public) was not.

The court emphasized the aggravating factors, including the planned and deliberate nature of the crimes, the group plan, the gratuitous violence against bystanders, and the profound impact on victims.

The judge imposed concurrent life sentences for all counts for each offender, along with ancillary orders.

In a first-degree murder and attempted murder trial, the accused applied to exclude a surveillance video and audio recording, arguing it was more prejudicial than probative.

The court found portions of the recording to have probative value regarding the accused's mens rea, the timing of events, and animus towards the victim.

However, the court ruled that audio captured after 3:56:50, which depicted frantic calls for the deceased, lacked probative value and was highly prejudicial.

Consequently, the video and audio up to 3:56:50 were admitted, while the audio thereafter was excluded.

The applicant, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for 25 years, brought a faint hope application under s. 745.6 of the Criminal Code seeking a reduction in his parole ineligibility period.

The court conducted a judicial screening to determine if there was a reasonable prospect that a unanimous jury would reduce the period.

While acknowledging the applicant's positive institutional conduct, including education and employment, the court found that the applicant lacked true remorse and insight, minimizing his role in the callous murder over a $30 drug debt.

The court also noted recent concerning institutional misconduct and the fact that the applicant would be deported upon release without Parole Board supervision.

The application was dismissed.

The accused, facing charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder, applied for an order allowing defence counsel to deliver an opening statement immediately after the Crown's opening.

The Crown opposed, arguing a lack of special circumstances, the risk of the defence not calling evidence, and that the proposed opening would be impermissible argument.

The court granted the application, finding that the jury would benefit from understanding the narrow focus of the defence (conceding actus reus but disputing mens rea) from the outset.

The judge reasoned that concerns about over-promising or impermissible content are inherent to all opening statements and can be adequately addressed by standard jury instructions, and that there was no realistic danger of the defence failing to call evidence in this case.

The Crown sought to admit evidence of the accused's prior physical altercations with his wife in a first-degree murder and attempted murder trial.

The accused was charged with starting a fire at his in-laws' home, resulting in his mother-in-law's death and injury to his wife, daughters, and father-in-law.

The Crown argued the evidence was relevant to motive and state of mind, providing context for the marital relationship.

The defence argued it had minimal probative value, lacked specific details, and carried significant prejudice by portraying the accused as a "domestic abuser" and feeding stereotypes.

The court dismissed the Crown's application, finding the evidence had little to no probative value as it was not necessary to understand the relationship's dynamic and was too dissimilar to the charged offences to infer murderous intent.

While the prejudicial effect was minimal, the lack of probative value meant it did not outweigh the prejudice, thus rendering it inadmissible.

This ruling addresses the voluntariness of statements made by Malik Essue, who is charged with first-degree murder, to police.

The central issue was the police's failure to provide a proper primary caution and their use of trickery during the interview.

The court found that Essue was a suspect in law, despite police assertions to the contrary, and that the partial caution given was inadequate.

The police also failed to inform Essue that the interview was being recorded and falsely told him he was not a suspect.

The court concluded that the police's deliberate omissions and deception undermined the fairness of the statement-taking process and Essue's ability to make a meaningful choice.

Consequently, the Crown failed to prove voluntariness beyond a reasonable doubt, and Essue's statement was ruled inadmissible at trial.

The applicant, one of three co-accused charged with murder, brought a pre-trial application to exclude a video recovered from his cellphone.

The video depicted the applicant holding a firearm with a caption containing rap lyrics referencing a shot to the head, which mirrored the victim's cause of death.

The applicant argued the video was irrelevant and its prejudicial effect outweighed its probative value.

The court dismissed the application, finding the video was sufficiently proximate in time to the murder and admissible as a party admission, subject to limiting instructions to the jury regarding out-of-court statements and unconscious racial bias.

The applicant, charged with first-degree murder, sought to exclude cellphone evidence seized during a traffic stop, alleging breaches of sections 8, 9, and 10 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a delay in filing a Report to Justice.

The court found that while the traffic stop was legitimate, the seizure of the cellphones by the London police officer was unlawful as he lacked independent reasonable grounds, acting solely on direction from another officer.

However, the court determined that the Charter breach was not serious, the impact on the accused was minimal, and the administration of justice would not be brought into disrepute by admitting the evidence, especially given the seriousness of the murder charge and the subsequent judicial authorization for the search.

The Crown sought to admit ante-mortem statements made by the deceased, Sangita Sharma, in a murder trial against three defendants.

The statements concerned Ms. Sharma's business dealings and disputes with an alleged orchestrator of her contract killing, Mian Afzalaqif.

The court ruled on the admissibility of these statements under traditional hearsay exceptions (state of mind, statement of intention) and the principled approach to hearsay (necessity and threshold reliability).

The court found the statements admissible, deeming them relevant to motive and identity, and satisfying the reliability criteria despite defence concerns regarding the witness's credibility.

The Crown applied to admit non-expert recognition evidence from a high school principal identifying the respondent in a surveillance video recorded days before a first-degree murder.

The respondent objected, arguing the video quality was poor and the police identification procedure was suggestive.

The Superior Court of Justice ruled the evidence admissible, finding that the principal's extensive prior familiarity with the respondent provided a strong foundation for the identification, which outweighed the procedural flaws and put the jury in a better position to assess the evidence.

The accused, Azar Sheikh, was charged with impaired driving causing death and bodily harm, drive over 80 causing death and bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm, and criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm following a fatal collision.

The Crown's case relied on inferences from eyewitness observations, expert toxicologist opinions regarding alcohol and MDMA levels, and accident reconstruction evidence.

The court found the accused guilty of impaired driving causing death and bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm, and criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm.

However, the accused was acquitted of the "drive over 80" charges due to reasonable doubt regarding the precise blood alcohol concentration at the time of the collision, given the variability in testing methods.

The court emphasized that the accused's impairment and excessive speed were significant contributing factors to the collision, well beyond de minimis.

The applicant sought bail on a charge of first-degree murder, which involved a highly organized, gangland-style execution.

The Crown opposed release on all three grounds: flight risk, danger to the public, and erosion of public confidence.

The court found the applicant's pre-apprehension behavior alarming, the offence grave, the Crown's case compelling, ties to the community minimal, the release plan weak, and a history of non-compliance with court orders.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on detention conditions, the court concluded that detention was necessary on all three grounds, particularly given the brazen nature of the attack and the applicant's role in a sophisticated criminal plot.

The application for bail was dismissed.

The accused, I.M., brought an application for a court order to cross-examine a Crown witness on their previous conviction under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), despite the statutory access period having expired.

The Crown opposed, arguing for the YCJA's emphasis on rehabilitation and privacy for young persons.

The court considered the competing interests of youth rehabilitation and the accused's right to make full answer and defence, ultimately allowing the application.

The judge found that the proper administration of justice, especially given the serious charge and the witness's importance, justified allowing the cross-examination, distinguishing prior case law based on jurisdictional and public policy considerations.

The Crown brought a pre-trial application to admit text messages between the accused and a co-conspirator sent days before a fatal robbery.

The Crown argued the messages, which discussed purchasing a firearm, were probative of the accused's knowledge that the robbery's purpose was to obtain firearms.

The accused opposed, arguing the messages constituted highly prejudicial propensity evidence.

The court held the messages were admissible as specific propensity evidence, finding their probative value outweighed the moral and reasoning prejudice, provided certain inflammatory portions were redacted and a limiting instruction was given to the jury.

The applicant, a young person charged with first degree murder, brought an application to sit at counsel table during his trial instead of the prisoner's box.

The Crown opposed the application but raised no security concerns.

The court granted the application, noting the seriousness of the charge, the potential for prejudice against racialized persons, the lack of evidence disproving potential prejudice from sitting in the dock, and the facilitation of communication with counsel.

A young person charged with three bank robberies committed with an imitation firearm, along with charges of non-compliance with undertakings and bail orders, sought judicial interim release.

The Crown opposed bail on secondary and tertiary grounds under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The court found that the young person presented a substantial likelihood of committing further serious offences if released and that no bail conditions could adequately protect the public or maintain confidence in the administration of justice.

The proposed sureties (the young person's parents) were found to be unable to effectively supervise their son, having failed to enforce previous bail orders.

The court ordered the young person detained in custody until trial.