Marcy Segal

The accused, charged with first degree murder, brought an application to exclude sworn jurors from the courtroom during the challenge for cause process using rotating triers.

The Crown argued that recent appellate jurisprudence eliminated the trial judge's inherent jurisdiction to exclude sworn jurors.

The court held that it retained the common law discretion to exclude sworn jurors, as the Criminal Code is silent on the matter.

The court exercised its discretion to exclude the sworn jurors to prevent them from sitting idly in court for up to a week while the remainder of the jury was selected, which would diminish respect for the process.

The defendant was charged with impaired driving and driving with excess alcohol following a traffic stop on December 31, 2015.

The defendant challenged whether the arresting officer had reasonable and probable grounds to arrest him for impaired driving and sought to exclude the breath test results.

The court found that the officer had reasonable and probable grounds to arrest based on the totality of circumstances, including slow driving, driving without lights, a wide turn, failure to move to the side of the road when emergency lights were activated, and the smell of alcohol.

However, the court found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was impaired by alcohol.

The defendant was acquitted of impaired driving but convicted of operating a motor vehicle with excess alcohol (160 mgs per 100 milliliters of blood).

The accused, a 52-year-old operations manager at a brokerage firm earning approximately $70,000 annually, systematically stole approximately $175,000 from her employer over approximately 18 months by diverting deposit funds to her personal bank account.

The theft was motivated by financial and personal difficulties arising from matrimonial issues, leaving her solely responsible for supporting her two adult children pursuing post-secondary education.

The accused was of otherwise good character with a single prior conviction for impaired driving from 15 years prior.

She pleaded guilty and confessed to her criminal activity.

The Crown sought a custodial sentence of 12 to 15 months and full restitution.

The accused sought a conditional sentence order to be served in the community.

The court rejected the conditional sentence option, finding that the seriousness of the breach of trust, the amount stolen, the sophistication of the scheme, and the lack of restitution necessitated a custodial sentence to satisfy the principles of denunciation and general deterrence.

The accused sought to introduce evidence of the complainant's prior sexual activity through social media accounts (Tumblr and Ask.fm) in a sexual assault trial.

The Crown opposed the application.

The court dismissed the application, finding that while the social media postings may constitute "sexual activity" under section 276 of the Criminal Code, the evidence was not admissible because it lacked relevance to the central issue of whether the complainant consented to the sexual activity.

The court rejected arguments that the evidence was necessary to explain the complainant's knowledge of sexual practices, to establish similarity with a prior alleged assault, or to impeach the complainant's credibility.

The applicants, charged with first-degree murder, brought pre-trial applications to exclude evidence under the Charter.

They alleged arbitrary detention, unreasonable search, and right to counsel violations.

The court found that the initial investigative detentions and arrests were lawful and that the examination of the accused's shoes did not violate section 8.

However, the court found a section 9 violation for both accused because the police deliberately delayed bringing them before a Justice of the Peace within 24 hours in order to obtain statements.

Consequently, the statements made at the police station were excluded under section 24(2).

The expert evidence regarding gunshot residue and footwear impressions was ruled admissible.

The accused pleaded guilty to multiple charges arising from motor vehicle operations in Burlington on December 6, 2012, and Toronto on January 29, 2013.

The charges included operating a motor vehicle while disqualified, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from police, and breach of probation.

The court imposed a global sentence of 8 months custody (after crediting 6 months pretrial custody) and a 10-year driving prohibition.

The sentencing was influenced by the accused's pattern of non-compliance with court orders, his serious driving conduct endangering public safety, and credibility concerns regarding rehabilitation evidence presented by his family.

The accused was charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation causing death following a fatal motor vehicle collision involving a tractor‑trailer.

He brought a Charter application seeking exclusion of several categories of evidence, including statements made at the collision scene, driving logs and related trucking documents seized from the vehicle, a videotaped police interview, and derivative evidence.

The court held that statements made to the first officer at the scene were compelled accident‑report statements under the Highway Traffic Act and therefore protected by use immunity pursuant to s. 7 of the Charter.

However, although police breached s. 8 by unlawfully searching the truck cab and seizing driving logs, the evidence was admitted after applying the Grant factors because the privacy interest was minimal and the evidence was reliable and important.

The court also rejected arguments that the logs engaged s. 7 self‑incrimination protections or that the later interview breached s. 10(b).