Solomon Chaim Friedman

The appellant was convicted of sexual assault, sexual interference, and breach of probation involving a 13-year-old complainant.

The appeal focused on whether the trial judge erred in applying the "mistaken belief in age" defence under s. 150.1(4) of the Criminal Code, specifically whether the appellant took "all reasonable steps" to ascertain the complainant's age.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that the appellant failed to take all reasonable steps, considering various contextual factors such as the age difference, complainant's appearance, living situation, and the appellant's suspicions about her online profile.

The appeal was dismissed.

The Crown applied to revoke Sam Tsega's bail pending sentencing after he was found guilty of manslaughter.

Tsega was initially charged with murder but tried for manslaughter, meaning his bail was not automatically revoked post-conviction under s. 523(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.

The Crown sought revocation based on the tertiary ground (maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice) under s. 515(10) of the Code.

The court reviewed five principles for post-conviction bail revocation, emphasizing that the Crown must generally present new facts.

The court found that the circumstances relied upon by the Crown were known when Tsega was initially granted bail by the Court of Appeal in 2017, and no new facts or breaches of conditions were alleged.

Considering the relatively short delay until sentencing and potential difficulties for Tsega to prepare while incarcerated due to the pandemic, the court concluded that the Crown had not shown that immediate incarceration was required to maintain public confidence.

The application to revoke bail was denied.

Constable Daniel Montsion was tried on charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault, and assault with a weapon arising from his role in the arrest of Abdirahman Abdi on July 24, 2016, in Ottawa.

Mr. Abdi died in cardiac arrest shortly after the arrest.

The Crown alleged that Constable Montsion unlawfully assaulted Mr. Abdi by punching him multiple times in the face and head while wearing hard-knuckled gloves, and that this assault was a significant contributing cause of Mr. Abdi's death.

The defence argued that Constable Montsion's use of force was legally justified under section 25(1) of the Criminal Code and that he did not cause Mr. Abdi's injuries or death.

After a 72-day trial, Justice Kelly found Constable Montsion not guilty on all charges, concluding that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his conduct was unlawful or criminally negligent, that he caused Mr. Abdi's nasal injuries, or that he caused Mr. Abdi's death.

The applicant, Awso Peshdary, facing terrorism charges, brought applications under s. 7 of the Charter and s. 38.14 of the Canada Evidence Act, seeking a stay of proceedings or exclusion of evidence due to the destruction of notes by a key Crown witness (A.M.), a former CSIS human source.

As part of these applications, Peshdary sought disclosure of various CSIS documents, including policies on human source handling, drafts of an affidavit from a CSIS employee ('John'), and materials related to A.M.'s handler.

The court granted disclosure for CSIS policies related to human source safety and note-taking, finding them relevant to the Charter application concerning the right to make full answer and defence.

However, it denied disclosure for draft affidavits and handler-related materials, citing litigation privilege and lack of likely relevance, or prior Federal Court rulings on privilege.

The applicants brought a pre-trial application challenging a wiretap authorization, alleging a breach of their s. 8 Charter rights.

The authorization was sought in the investigation of a homicide that occurred 7.5 years prior.

The court conducted a facial inquiry of the supporting affidavit and found that it failed to establish reasonable and probable grounds that the wiretap would afford evidence of the homicide.

Specifically, there was no credible evidence or reasonable inference that the targets maintained contact or would communicate about the homicide after such a significant passage of time.

The court rejected the Crown's argument that judicial notice could be taken of ongoing communication, distinguishing the facts from cases involving active criminal organizations.

The sub-facial inquiry, which examined the Project Proposal, did not undermine the affidavit's veracity regarding the primary purpose of the investigation.

Consequently, the court found that the evidence obtained through intercepted communications was obtained in violation of the applicants' s. 8 Charter rights.

The application was scheduled to continue for argument on the exclusion of evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter.

Malcolm Valade was convicted of intentionally discharging a firearm while reckless as to life or safety, an offence carrying a four-year mandatory minimum sentence.

The defence challenged this mandatory minimum as cruel and unusual punishment under s. 12 of the Charter, arguing it was grossly disproportionate to a fit sentence of twenty months.

The Crown argued for its constitutionality.

The court found the mandatory minimum grossly disproportionate for the offender, infringing s. 12, and not justified under s. 1 of the Charter.

Consequently, the mandatory minimum was declared of no force or effect.

The accused, Malcolm Valade, was sentenced for intentionally discharging a firearm.

The court previously found the mandatory minimum sentence of four years unconstitutional and determined a fit sentence of twenty months.

This decision addresses the calculation of enhanced credit for 192 days of pre-sentence custody under notoriously harsh conditions at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) and 827 days under strict house arrest bail conditions.

The court granted enhanced credit for both quantitative and qualitative reasons, recognizing the severe impact of OCDC conditions on the accused's mental health and the punitive nature of house arrest.

Ultimately, the accused received 18 months of credit against the 20-month sentence, resulting in a final sentence of 60 days imprisonment to be served intermittently, along with three years of probation and ancillary orders.

The accused, Melissa Jeaurond, pleaded guilty to careless storage of firearms, unauthorized possession of firearms, and possession of psilocybin for the purpose of trafficking.

The court considered aggravating factors, including the large quantity of psilocybin and its proximity to firearms, and mitigating factors such as her first-time offender status, remorse, guilty plea, and strong community support.

The court applied credit for stringent pre-sentence bail conditions (Downes credit).

The judge imposed a period of imprisonment for the drug and firearms offences, with sentences running concurrently, and a mandatory firearms prohibition.

The court denied the Crown's request for a discretionary DNA order, balancing the public interest against the offender's privacy interests given her low risk of recidivism and lack of prior record.

The applicant sought an order to excise information obtained through a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Act authorization, which was subsequently used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to secure a Criminal Code authorization for intercepting private communications.

The applicant alleged infringements of Charter s. 8 rights and the right to full answer and defence.

The court determined that the CSIS Act warrant met the minimum criteria for a lawful search, and the information derived from it did not violate s. 8.

Furthermore, the applicant's right to full answer and defence was not denied, as substantial disclosure of source documents related to the CSIS Act warrant had been obtained through prior third-party records applications.

Consequently, the application to excise the information was denied.

The applicant, Awso Peshdary, sought disclosure of source documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) related to a 2012 CSIS Act warrant, renewing a previous request based on an alleged material change in circumstances following a Federal Court decision upholding the warrant.

CSIS and the Federal Crown opposed, arguing that the validity of the warrant had been decided by the Federal Court, precluding further challenge, and that no material change justified revisiting the prior disclosure denial.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the renewed request constituted a collateral attack and an abuse of process, as it sought to relitigate the warrant's validity in a different forum after a final determination by the Federal Court.

Malcolm Valade was charged with threatening death and discharge of a firearm while reckless.

He pled guilty to the firearm charge, and the threatening charge was dismissed.

This decision provides reasons on sentencing for the firearm offence.

The court considered aggravating and mitigating factors, including a toxic family relationship and the offender's mental health issues.

The Crown sought a five-year sentence, while the defence sought twelve months.

The court determined that if the mandatory minimum of four years for the firearm offence is constitutional, the sentence would be four years imprisonment, as the offender qualified as a "best offender." If the mandatory minimum were not constitutional, the court would have imposed a twenty-month prison term.

The appellant, John Morrison, appealed his conviction for assault causing bodily harm on two grounds: reasonable apprehension of bias by the trial judge and misapprehension of evidence.

The appeal court reviewed the trial judge's interventions during cross-examination of a vulnerable witness and her comment about 'setting up an appeal,' concluding that an informed person would not find a reasonable apprehension of bias.

Regarding the misapprehension of evidence concerning a defence witness's criminal record, the court found it was a factual error that did not impact the substantive issues or result in a miscarriage of justice.

The appeal was dismissed.

The Applicant, Awso Peshdary, facing terrorism-related charges, sought production of materials from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) as a third-party records holder.

The request pertained to two main areas: (1) reliability assessments and financial arrangements of Abdullah Milton, a paid CSIS asset and later police agent whose credibility was a material issue, and (2) materials related to a CSIS warrant obtained against Peshdary, used to support a subsequent RCMP judicial authorization.

The court applied the two-stage O'Connor test for third-party disclosure.

It found that materials related to Milton's reliability and financial arrangements met the "likely relevance" test for trial issues and ordered their disclosure to the court for review.

However, for the CSIS warrant materials, the court distinguished between facial and sub-facial challenges to judicial authorizations, applying the narrower Garofoli test as clarified by World Bank Group v. Wallace.

It concluded that the applicant had not met the test for likely relevance for the CSIS warrant materials, as the purpose was to challenge the admissibility of evidence rather than directly bear on guilt or innocence.

The court also ordered disclosure of any notes Milton took of his interactions with Peshdary.

Malcolm Valade, charged with serious Criminal Code offences including attempted murder and firearm offenses, applied for a bail review after being detained by a Justice of the Peace.

He sought release based on a material change in circumstances, presenting a new release plan that included his spouse Christine Valade as an additional surety, independent employment outside the family business (which was the source of the dispute), and a more intensive mental health treatment program.

The court found that the new plan constituted a material and relevant change in circumstances, addressing the deficiencies identified in the initial bail hearing.

The court concluded that detention was no longer necessary on any of the three grounds under s. 515(10) of the Criminal Code, and granted Valade's release on specific terms and conditions.