Julian K. Roy

The applicants sought judicial review of decisions by two coroners refusing to issue a summons to a government official to testify about the composition of the jury roll in the Thunder Bay district, specifically regarding the representation of First Nations individuals.

The Divisional Court dismissed the applications, holding that coroners have no statutory authority under the Coroners Act to inquire into or remedy the process used by the sheriff to compile the jury roll under the Juries Act.

The court found no jurisdictional error or breach of natural justice in the coroners' refusals.

The applicant, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, sought a stay of a coroner's inquest into the death of an aboriginal youth pending an application for judicial review.

The judicial review challenged the Coroner's refusal to issue a summons to a government official regarding the representativeness of First Nations people on the jury roll under the Juries Act.

The Divisional Court granted the stay, finding that the representativeness of the jury roll raised a serious issue, that proceeding with a potentially unrepresentative jury could cause irreparable harm to public confidence, and that the balance of convenience favoured a stay.

The appellants, police officers and a police services board, were wholly successful on appeal in an action brought by the respondent regarding her treatment in police custody.

The appellants sought costs of $150,000 for all levels of court.

The Court of Appeal declined to award costs to the successful appellants, finding that the case raised complex issues of general public importance regarding police duties to detainees.

Given the public interest nature of the litigation and the respondent's severe financial hardship, the court ordered that the parties bear their own costs.

The respondent was detained in a police holding cell and attempted to hang herself using her brassiere.

Police officers forcibly removed her clothing and, when she refused to move into the view of a video camera, handcuffed her to the cell bars while naked.

The trial judge dismissed her action for negligence, assault, and Charter breaches, finding the police acted reasonably and in accordance with policy.

The Divisional Court ordered a new trial on the basis that the trial judge failed to consider her dignity and privacy interests.

The Court of Appeal allowed the police officers' appeal and restored the trial judge's dismissal, holding that the trial judge did not ignore the evidence regarding her dignity and privacy, and that there was no palpable and overriding error.

The applicant, sought by the United States for the attempted murder of a police officer in 1969, applied for a review of a detention order pending his extradition hearing.

He had previously jumped bail twice in the US and lived in Canada under an assumed name for 30 years.

The applicant proposed a revised release plan including electronic monitoring and supervision by his mother-in-law.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the application, finding no error in principle in the application judge's conclusion that the applicant remained a significant flight risk and that electronic monitoring would not ensure his attendance in court.

The respondent, a young black single mother, was convicted of importing 733.4 grams of cocaine.

The trial judge imposed a conditional sentence of two years less a day, citing systemic racial and gender bias, delay, and the risk of deportation as mitigating factors.

The Crown appealed the sentence.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the trial judge erred in adjusting the cocaine's weight for purity to avoid the three-to-five-year sentencing range established in Madden.

The Court further held that systemic bias, delay, and deportation risk did not justify a conditional sentence in this case.

The sentence was varied to 20 months' incarceration, giving credit for time served on the conditional sentence.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario issued a procedural endorsement consolidating three appeals involving the respondents Hamilton, Mason, and Spencer.

On consent, the court granted leave to intervene to several organizations, including the African Canadian Legal Clinic, the Native Women's Association of Canada, and Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto.

The endorsement also established the timetable for perfecting the appeals, filing factums, and the allocation of time for oral arguments.

At the opening of an application for judicial review regarding a coroner's inquest, the applicants brought a motion to remove the law firm representing the respondent Coroner.

The firm had previously done corporate legal work for a corporation that had standing at the inquest.

Although there was no actual conflict of interest, the Divisional Court granted the motion and removed the firm based on the need to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice and avoid any appearance of impropriety.