Janice Elaine Blackburn

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code against the disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated October 2, 2017.

The appellant, declared not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder, challenged three aspects of the Board's decision: (1) the finding that the appellant posed a significant threat to public safety; (2) the Board's failure to consider a conditional discharge; and (3) the wording of condition 4(f) of the disposition.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's findings on the first two issues but amended condition 4(f) to clarify the Board's intention regarding restrictions on the appellant's attendance at locations where children under 14 are present.

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code from a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated September 19, 2017.

The appellant, found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in 2009, sought transfer from Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care to a less secure facility.

Although the parties agreed a transfer was appropriate, the Board majority refused the transfer.

The appellant challenged the decision on grounds of procedural unfairness and failure to impose the least onerous and least restrictive disposition.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and remitted the matter to the Board, finding that while procedural fairness was maintained and the Board's decision fell within the range of reasonable outcomes, the Board erred by failing to consider ordering an independent psychiatric assessment given the uncertainty surrounding the appellant's diagnosis.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated April 12, 2017, regarding his placement and security regime.

The appellant and Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care argued that the Board's decision was unreasonable.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding it reasonable.

The Board had concluded that public safety would be compromised if the appellant was transferred unless the maximum security regime at Waypoint could be effectively replicated at the receiving hospital, which would negate the purpose of transfer.

The court noted that further assessment by an independent assessor remained possible at the appellant's annual hearing scheduled for early April.

A dual-status offender appealed the Ontario Review Board's decision to decline his request for a placement review hearing as part of his annual disposition review.

The appellant had been found Not Criminally Responsible in 1997 and subsequently convicted of murder in 2002.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding no error in declining to conduct a placement review hearing where the appellant had not requested one prior to the scheduled hearing date, other parties were not ready to proceed, and the disposition review hearing was already significantly overdue.

The court noted that the appellant remained entitled to request a placement review hearing under section 672.69(2) of the Criminal Code.

An appeal from the Ontario Review Board's November 14, 2016 disposition continuing the appellant's detention at a General Forensic Unit and refusing a transfer to another institution.

The appellant raised two issues: (1) whether the Board erred in refusing a second adjournment and dismissing a document disclosure motion, and (2) whether the Board erred in failing to find that the hospital's March 2016 reduction of privileges and implementation of a behaviour intervention plan infringed Charter rights under sections 7 and 9.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no reversible errors in the Board's decisions.

The appellant appealed a disposition order from the Ontario Review Board dated January 5, 2017, which ordered his detention at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care – Provincial Forensic Division.

The appellant did not challenge the Board's finding that he posed a significant threat to public safety but argued that his transfer from CAMH to Waypoint was not necessary and appropriate for managing that risk.

He contended that the Board failed to consider the context of his behaviour and that the announcement of his transfer triggered his deterioration.

He also argued the Board did not give sufficient weight to the disruption of his therapeutic and familial relationships.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's decision was reasonable and amply supported by evidence.

The appellant appealed two dispositions of the Ontario Review Board following his finding of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for offences committed in January 2016.

The Board found the appellant suffered from delusional disorder and posed a significant threat to public safety, ordering his detention on a secure forensic unit.

The appellant sought an absolute discharge or conditional discharge to return to the community.

Amicus curiae argued the hearings were procedurally unfair and the disposition was unreasonable.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal from the Initial Disposition as moot and upheld the Current Disposition, finding the Board conducted a fair inquisitorial hearing and the detention decision was reasonable and supported by evidence.

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."

An appeal from a Superior Court decision dismissing an appeal from a Consent and Capacity Board decision confirming the appellant's involuntary status under the Mental Health Act.

The appellant, a dangerous offender with a lengthy history of violent and sexual crimes, challenged his detention as an involuntary psychiatric patient, arguing that the Mental Health Act was being used to extend his prison sentence indefinitely (psychiatric gating) and that his Charter rights were violated.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding that the appellant suffers from mental disorders (paraphilia, antisocial personality disorder with psychopathy) that pose a serious risk to others, that the initial Form 1 was properly completed, and that the appellant's Charter claims under sections 7, 9, 11(h), and 12 all failed.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition ordering detention of a dual-status offender at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.

The appellant, found not criminally responsible in 2010 for assault on a minor, was convicted in 2015 of assault causing bodily harm on a nurse at a secure forensic hospital and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and three years' probation.

The Board ordered the appellant serve the remainder of his sentence in a hospital at Waypoint.

The appellant challenged the disposition on multiple grounds, including failure to require testimony from the CECC psychiatrist, failure to require testimony from the Minister, failure to hold a review hearing as soon as practicable, presumption of illness rather than wellness, errors of fact, and failure to explain why detention at Waypoint was the least restrictive disposition.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's disposition reasonable.

An appellant found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for criminal harassment appealed the Ontario Review Board's disposition that he constituted a significant threat to public safety and should be transferred between secure forensic units.

The appellant had been detained in the mental health system for over ten years.

Fresh evidence from the appellant's treating psychiatrist and a clinical forensic psychologist using a stalking-specific risk assessment tool concluded the appellant no longer posed a significant threat and was entitled to an absolute discharge.

The majority allowed the appeal and remitted the matter to the Board for fresh determination.

The dissenting judge would have granted an absolute discharge directly, finding the fresh evidence uncontradicted and unequivocal.

The appellant appealed a finding of incapacity to consent to anti-psychotic medication made by a physician and confirmed by the Consent and Capacity Board.

The appellant had been found not criminally responsible (NCR) on criminal charges and was detained at a psychiatric facility.

Subsequently, her appeal of the NCR verdict was allowed and a new trial was ordered, but she remained detained under the Mental Health Act.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the incapacity finding was not moot despite the successful appeal of the NCR verdict, as the appellant remained lawfully detained at the time the incapacity determination was made.

The Court upheld the Board's finding that although the appellant could understand relevant information about treatment, she could not apply it to her own circumstances due to her delusional disorder.

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 hospital appealed a mandatory order from the Ontario Review Board requiring it to provide up to two escorted visits per year for a forensic patient to his mother's home for dinner.

The patient had been found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for sexual assault offences and had been detained in maximum security since 1989.

The Review Board initially made the visits discretionary but amended its disposition to make them mandatory.

The Court of Appeal allowed the hospital's appeal, finding that the board erred in law and acted unreasonably by imposing a mandatory order without discretion.

The court held that while the board may encourage the hospital to create community visit programs, the terms must remain discretionary to allow the hospital to consider staff availability, patient stability, and the consent of the person to be visited.

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.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board that continued his conditional discharge from the North Bay Regional Health Center.

The appellant argued that the Board failed to focus on whether he posed a significant risk of serious harm to the public as required by s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, and that the Board erred in failing to consider whether a community treatment order under the Mental Health Act could mitigate residual risk.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the Board's decision was reasonable given the appellant's schizoaffective disorder, his history of violence, and the evidence that he would discontinue medication if absolutely discharged.

The appellant appealed a Consent and Capacity Board decision finding him incapable with respect to mood stabilizers, anti-psychotic, benzodiazepines, and anticholinergic medications.

The appellant challenged the procedural fairness of the Board hearing, the reasonableness of the decision, and the adequacy of reasons.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding no procedural unfairness, no unreasonable decision, and adequate evidentiary foundation for the findings of incapacity.

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code against a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated July 12, 2016.

The appeal was dismissed as moot by the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

The appellant, who was previously found NCRMD, appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board.

At the outset of his review hearing, the appellant objected to being addressed by his legal name and to the constitution of the Board.

The Chair gave the appellant a five-second ultimatum before cutting off his audio and video feed, proceeding with the hearing in his absence.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the Chair acted precipitously and failed to exercise the judicial patience and restraint required under section 672.5(10)(b)(i) of the Criminal Code before excluding an accused from a hearing.

The appellant doctor appealed a Superior Court decision that reversed a Consent and Capacity Board finding that the respondent was incapable of consenting to proposed psychiatric treatment.

Following the commencement of the appeal, the respondent's NCR verdict was overturned, he was discharged from the facility, and the proposed treatment was never commenced.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal as moot, declining to exercise its discretion to hear the case as a decision would have no practical effect on the parties and the appellant's concerns regarding a prior capable wish could be addressed under section 36 of the Health Care Consent Act.