Jay Spare

The offender, a youthful first offender, was convicted of manslaughter following a trial for the stabbing death of a 15-year-old victim during an altercation in a park.

The Crown sought 11 years' imprisonment, while amicus curiae sought time served (69 months).

The court weighed aggravating factors, including the use of a concealed knife and the vulnerability of the victim, against mitigating factors such as the offender's youth, lack of prior record, and harsh pre-sentence custody conditions exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court imposed a sentence of 9 years' imprisonment, less 69 months of enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody, leaving 39 months to serve.

The offender was convicted of manslaughter as a party to a fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old victim during an altercation in a park.

The Crown sought 10 years' imprisonment, while the offender sought 5 years (time served).

The court weighed aggravating factors, including the offender's possession of a knife while on a weapons prohibition, against mitigating factors such as his youth, lack of prior record, and harsh pre-sentence custody conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court imposed a sentence of 7.5 years' imprisonment, less 55.5 months of enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody, leaving 34.5 months to serve.

The accused, Tyrelle Lee and Steven MacIsaac, were charged with second-degree murder following a fatal stabbing at a park party.

A verbal altercation escalated into a physical melee, during which the deceased was chased to a hill and stabbed once in the chest by Lee.

MacIsaac was present, armed with a knife, and assisted in preventing the deceased from escaping.

The court found that while Lee caused the unlawful death, the Crown failed to prove the requisite intent for murder beyond a reasonable doubt.

Both accused were found guilty of manslaughter, with MacIsaac convicted as a party to the offence for aiding and abetting.

The accused was charged with two separate first-degree murders in Toronto and Brampton.

During a pre-trial motion, the court previously ruled that the accused's confessions to undercover officers were admissible.

In this motion, the court determined how to edit the confession for the Toronto trial to prevent the jury from hearing overly prejudicial evidence about the Brampton homicide.

The court ruled that explicit references to the Brampton shooting must be edited out, but circumstantial evidence linking the accused to the car and gun used in both incidents remained admissible due to its high probative value regarding identity.

The accused was charged with two separate counts of first-degree murder.

The Crown sought to admit confessions obtained during a lengthy undercover 'Mr. Big' operation.

The court applied the framework from R. v. Hart, assessing the threshold reliability of the confessions against their prejudicial effect.

The court found the confessions to be highly detailed, internally consistent, and corroborated by holdback evidence, establishing strong probative value.

The moral prejudice arising from the accused's involvement in the simulated criminal organization was deemed mitigable through editing and jury instructions.

The confessions were ruled admissible.

The Crown applied for mandamus after a trial judge declined to correct an erroneous sex offender registry order made following conviction for two counts of sexual assault.

The sentencing judge had imposed a 10‑year registration order under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act when the Criminal Code mandated a lifetime order for multiple designated offences.

The court held that the sentencing judge possessed inherent jurisdiction to correct the error because the duration of a SOIRA order is determined by a mechanical statutory calculation rather than a substantive sentencing discretion.

As the trial judge declined jurisdiction and no clear appeal route existed for such an order in summary conviction proceedings, the Superior Court granted mandamus.

The matter was remitted to the Ontario Court of Justice to correct the order.