Kimberly Diane Hyslop

The Crown applied for certiorari to overturn a preliminary inquiry judge's decision to discharge the respondent on first degree murder and commit her to stand trial for second degree murder.

The respondent had struck and killed the victim with her vehicle following a prolonged period of criminal harassment.

The Crown argued the preliminary inquiry judge committed jurisdictional error by impermissibly weighing competing inferences regarding whether the murder occurred while the respondent was committing criminal harassment.

The Superior Court dismissed the application, finding the preliminary inquiry judge properly conducted a limited weighing of the circumstantial evidence and made no jurisdictional error in concluding there was insufficient evidence of criminal harassment at the exact time of the murder.

The two defendants, aged 18 at the time, were convicted of robbing a 15-year-old student of his cell phone at their high school.

The Crown sought 2 to 4 months in jail followed by 18 months probation, while the defence sought probation.

The court considered the defendants' youth, first-time offender status, and post-offence conduct.

Emphasizing specific deterrence and rehabilitation, the court sentenced both defendants to three years of probation with strict conditions, including restitution of $350 each, a 10-year weapons prohibition, and a DNA order.

The accused pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter arising from a fatal apartment building fire started when he lit an artificial Christmas wreath as a prank and left the scene.

Two residents died from burns and smoke inhalation and extensive property damage resulted.

The court considered the objective foreseeability of bodily harm required for unlawful act manslaughter, the offender’s youth, remorse, guilty plea, and lack of subjective intent to cause harm.

Aggravating factors included the extreme recklessness of igniting a fire in a residential hallway and the loss of two lives.

A penitentiary sentence reflecting denunciation, deterrence, and rehabilitation was imposed.

Following a criminal trial for robbery arising from a school incident, identity was the only live issue.

The court considered eyewitness evidence from the complainant and a corroborating student witness, evidence from school officials, and the photo line-up evidence.

Applying the reasonable doubt standard and the framework in R v W (D), the court rejected the denial evidence and found the identification evidence reliable.

The court held that the Crown proved all elements of robbery beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted both defendants.