Ryan Handlarski

During a murder trial, counsel for one co-accused renewed an application to recall two witnesses to testify about the deceased's general reputation for violence and aggression, arguing that the evidentiary basis had changed since both co-accused had now testified.

The court had previously permitted specific Scopelliti evidence of the deceased's prior acts of weaponized intimidation but denied broader character evidence.

The court found that the law and reasons from its prior ruling continued to apply and denied the renewed request, noting that unlike the other co-accused who had established an air of reality for self-defence, the moving co-accused had not satisfied that threshold.

The appellant appealed her summary conviction findings of guilt for assault and assault causing bodily harm, arguing that the trial judge's written reasons, delivered approximately 11 months after the guilty verdicts, should not be considered on appeal as they were divorced from the reasoning that led to the verdicts.

Applying the framework from R. v. Teskey, the appeal court found that the repeated promises of imminent delivery of reasons followed by repeated failures to deliver, the lack of any satisfactory explanation for the delays, the nature of the evidence requiring detailed credibility and factual analysis, and deficiencies in the written reasons themselves constituted cogent evidence rebutting the presumption of judicial integrity.

The Crown conceded that the brief oral reasons at verdict were insufficient for appellate review under R. v. Sheppard.

The convictions were set aside and a new trial was ordered.

Jevaughn Myers pleaded guilty to kidnapping and administering a stupefying drug.

The victim, an international student, was kidnapped for ransom and held for 13 days.

The Crown sought 16 years, while the defence proposed 8 years.

The court considered aggravating factors (victim impact, Myers' central role) and mitigating factors (guilty plea, first offender, mental health, family support, harsh pre-sentence custody conditions).

Applying sentencing principles, including denunciation, deterrence, and totality, the court imposed a global sentence of 10 years imprisonment, comprising 9 years for kidnapping and 1 year consecutive for administering a substance, after accounting for pre-sentence custody.

A lifetime weapons prohibition and DNA order were also imposed.

This is a mandatory 90-day detention review under s. 525 of the Criminal Code.

The court addresses the onus at such reviews, distinguishing between cases where an initial bail hearing was held (no onus on either party) and where none was held (onus reverts to Crown/accused as per s. 515).

The court also clarifies the appropriate procedures and scope of s. 525 reviews, emphasizing they are not de novo bail hearings and that the Palmer/St-Cloud due diligence and relevance criteria for new evidence still apply.

The applicant sought release based on a new surety plan, but the court found it did not constitute a material change in circumstances and dismissed the application, finding continued detention justified.

The applicant, Givonn Bowen-Wright, sought a stay of proceedings for firearm possession charges, arguing an infringement of his s. 11(b) Charter right to a trial within a reasonable time, as the total delay exceeded the 30-month Jordan ceiling.

The Crown opposed, attributing delay to the defence and arguing case complexity.

The court found that the primary cause of delay was institutional shortcomings, specifically judicial unavailability, and rejected the Crown's arguments regarding defence delay and case complexity.

The application was granted, and the proceedings were stayed.

Kyle Marier pleaded guilty to possession of a loaded prohibited firearm.

The Crown sought 34 months imprisonment, while the defence sought an 18-month conditional sentence.

The court considered aggravating factors, including the public possession of a loaded firearm, flight from police, discarding the weapon, and being on bail for another offence.

Mitigating factors included Marier's youth (19 at the time of offence, 23 at sentencing), lack of prior criminal record, guilty plea, strong family and community support, and significant rehabilitative efforts while on house arrest bail for over four years.

The court also considered social context evidence of systemic anti-Black racism and its impact on the offender, which mitigated his moral culpability.

The judge found the appropriate sentence to be in the range of two years and, applying the principles from R. v. Morris, determined that a conditional sentence was appropriate given Marier's rehabilitative potential and the systemic factors.

Marier was sentenced to a two-year conditional sentence (less 46 days credit for pre-trial custody), with the first 12 months under house arrest and the remainder under curfew, followed by one year of probation.

Ancillary orders included a DNA order, a 10-year/lifetime firearms prohibition, and forfeiture of seized items.

The offender, Jonathan Weir, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after killing his best friend with an unlawfully possessed, prohibited machine gun.

The court considered the appropriate sentence, including the four-year minimum for manslaughter with a firearm, and arguments regarding police misconduct during arrest and detention.

The judge found Weir's moral blameworthiness to be high, closer to criminal negligence than a "near accident," due to his reckless handling and storage of firearms and ammunition while intoxicated.

While acknowledging some police misconduct (improper strip searches), the court found it not egregious enough to justify a sentence below the statutory minimum.

The final sentence was 51 months (4¼ years) after credits for pre-sentence custody, rights violations, and strict bail conditions.

The accused, a 22-year-old Black male with no prior criminal record, pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded restricted firearm and an over-capacity magazine found in his bedroom.

The court considered the accused's background, including experiences with anti-Black racism and his status as a first-time offender, applying the principles of restraint and rehabilitation under s. 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code.

A sentence of two years was imposed, but after applying Summers credits (1.5:1) and Duncan credits (2:1 for lockdown conditions) for pre-trial custody, the accused was sentenced to time served and 18 months of probation.

The young person pleaded guilty to second degree murder for killing his mother.

Both the Crown and defence agreed to a seven-year Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) youth sentence.

The only issue was the amount of credit for 688 days of pre-sentence custody.

The court granted one year of credit, leaving three years to serve in custody and three years under conditional supervision, noting the young person's significant neurodevelopmental needs and the requirement for long-term treatment and support.

The accused, a young Black man, sought release from custody through a combined 90-day detention review and a bail review.

He was facing charges including possession of a loaded prohibited firearm and breaching a previous release order by deliberately evading GPS monitoring.

The court found that while the justice of the peace erred in law by failing to explicitly consider the accused's status as a member of a vulnerable population under s. 493.2 of the Criminal Code, the error did not affect the outcome given the egregious nature of the breach and the inadequacy of the proposed release plan.

The court also rejected the accused's argument for release based on fear of COVID-19, noting his refusal to be vaccinated.

The application for release was dismissed and continued detention was found justified.

The accused applied for judicial interim release after being charged with firearms and drug offences while already on bail for similar charges.

The accused proposed a new release plan involving house arrest, a GPS ankle bracelet, and his girlfriend as a surety.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the accused had previously breached his bail conditions flagrantly and had shown a lack of respect for the proposed surety by taking her car without her knowledge.

The court concluded that GPS monitoring is reactionary and insufficient to prevent further offences, justifying detention on the secondary ground.

Clifford Campsall pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his girlfriend, Shelby Goldhar, whom he strangled and partially dismembered.

The court considered aggravating factors including the domestic nature of the homicide, the victim's vulnerabilities, the offender's prior assault conviction against the victim, and the indignity to the body.

Mitigating factors included the guilty plea, youthfulness, intellectual disability, and family support.

The court sentenced the offender to 9 years imprisonment, with credit for pre-sentence custody, including additional credit for difficult conditions of incarceration (lockdowns, triple bunking, and COVID-19 pandemic stress).

The applicant, charged with first-degree murder, sought release on bail.

The court considered the strength of the Crown's case, the applicant's background (including a new drug trafficking charge while in custody), the reliability of the proposed surety (the applicant's father, who was untruthful in testimony), the release plan, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court found the applicant failed to satisfy the onus on the secondary and tertiary grounds for detention, concluding that detention was necessary for public safety and to maintain confidence in the administration of justice.

Bashir Osman, facing serious firearm charges and breaches of recognizance, sought a bail review after being denied bail.

The application was heard during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was accepted as a material change in circumstances.

The court considered the secondary and tertiary grounds for detention under the Criminal Code, including the strength of the Crown's case, the gravity of the offences, the circumstances of their commission, and the potential for a lengthy sentence.

Special consideration was given to the accused's health (asthma) and the risks posed by COVID-19 in congregant correctional facilities.

The court found that a robust supervision plan, including electronic monitoring and multiple sureties, mitigated public safety concerns.

Ultimately, the court concluded that continued detention was not necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice, ordering the accused's release with strict conditions.

The accused brought a s. 7 Charter motion for a stay of proceedings due to lost evidence, later seeking a jury instruction.

The court found that most alleged police failings did not engage the Crown's duty to preserve evidence as it was never in their possession.

The only potentially lost evidence was nightclub surveillance footage, but its loss was not due to "unacceptable negligence" and its relevance was marginal and speculative.

Therefore, no s. 7 Charter violation was found.

However, the court ruled that a jury instruction on the general inadequacies of the police investigation and the concept of reasonable doubt arising from an "absence of evidence" was appropriate, based on pre-Charter common law principles.

The offender was found guilty of sexual interference and sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old victim.

The Crown sought a seven-year sentence, while the offender sought a significantly reduced sentence due to PTSD stemming from harsh pre-trial custody conditions on prior unrelated charges.

The court found the PTSD to be a mitigating factor and sentenced the offender to five years' imprisonment, reduced to 3 years and 211 days after applying enhanced credit for harsh pre-sentence custody conditions including lockdowns.

The offender was convicted of four counts of trafficking crack cocaine and four counts of possession of property obtained by crime after selling to an undercover officer.

The Crown sought 18 months custody, while the defence sought one year.

The court weighed the offender's prior related record and profit motive against mitigating factors including stringent bail conditions and an arbitrary arrest.

The court imposed a sentence of 14 months incarceration, followed by three years of probation, with 189 days of pre-sentence credit.

The offender, a youthful first-time offender, was convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine and heroin for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of proceeds of crime under $5,000.

The Crown sought a three-year sentence for the heroin charge, while the defence sought two years.

The court sentenced the offender to 28 months for the heroin charge, with concurrent sentences for the other offences.

The court granted standard 1.5:1 credit for pre-sentence custody, plus an additional four months for harsh lockdown conditions and three months for strict house arrest bail conditions, leaving 15 days left to serve.

A two-year probation order and forfeiture of $4,999 were also ordered.

The accused pleaded guilty to assaulting the victim following a street altercation.

The victim suffered significant injuries including loss of consciousness and facial trauma.

The accused was 18 years old at the time of the offence and had no criminal record, though was bound by a common-law peace bond.

The Crown sought a 60-day conditional sentence plus one year probation, while defence counsel sought a conditional discharge.

The court imposed a conditional discharge with 30 months probation, finding that despite the seriousness of the violence, the accused's exemplary character, remorse, and future prospects warranted this disposition.

Ganno Abdella was found guilty after trial of trafficking heroin and possession of proceeds of crime.

The court considered sentencing objectives, principles, and appellate authority emphasizing penitentiary terms for heroin trafficking.

Despite mitigating factors like her difficult background, lack of criminal record, and low intellectual functioning, the court found no exceptional circumstances to deviate from a penitentiary sentence.

The court also determined her involvement was ongoing, not a "one-off." She was sentenced to 26 months in penitentiary, less three days pre-sentence custody, with ancillary orders.