Dr. Colleton

Five bellwether individual issues trials were heard as summary judgment motions to determine whether class members who were placed in administrative segregation in federal penitentiaries were entitled to additional compensatory damages beyond their share of the aggregate damages award.

The court assessed the idiosyncratic harm suffered by each plaintiff, taking into account their pre-existing mental health conditions and other stressors.

The court awarded additional compensatory damages to three plaintiffs ($50,000, $25,000, and $75,000) who proved that their time in segregation caused specific, additional harm.

The claims of the other two plaintiffs were dismissed as they failed to prove causation.

The court declined to award punitive damages in any of the cases.

The appellant, convicted of second-degree murder, appealed his conviction and sentence.

The appeal challenged the admissibility of his in-court statements, the trial judge's refusal to leave self-defence and provocation with the jury, and the 17-year parole ineligibility period.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against conviction, finding the statements were not protected, not analogous to an aborted guilty plea, and the appellant had an operating mind.

It also upheld the trial judge's finding that there was no air of reality to self-defence or provocation.

Leave to appeal sentence was granted, but the sentence appeal was dismissed, as the parole ineligibility period was deemed fit given the brutality of the murder.

The accused pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and one count of possession of a weapon dangerous.

On June 7, 2011, he robbed a bank teller and an innocent cyclist outside a bank while armed with a knife.

The Crown sought a penitentiary sentence of approximately three years, while the defence sought time served.

The court imposed a sentence of time served with enhanced credit for pre-trial detention (19.5 months), suspended the passing of sentence, and placed the accused on probation for three years with conditions including psychiatric counselling, medication compliance, and no contact with victims.

The Crown sought to designate Krista Walker as a dangerous offender following her guilty plea to aggravated assault, carrying a concealed weapon, and failing to comply with probation.

The predicate offence involved stabbing the victim in the chest with a paring knife, causing serious injury.

The court heard extensive evidence regarding Walker's history of violence, psychiatric assessments, institutional records, and community supervision failures spanning decades.

Walker demonstrated a pattern of repetitive violent behaviour with weapons, persistent aggressive conduct, complete indifference to victims' suffering, and consistent refusal to engage in treatment.

The court designated Walker as a dangerous offender and imposed an indeterminate sentence.