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Lawyer who defrauded family members sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
Sentencing decision following guilty pleas to three counts of fraud over $5,000 involving approximately $116,500 obtained from close family members.
The offender, a lawyer, induced the victims to invest in his company by promising high returns and providing false documentation showing fictitious profits.
The court emphasized denunciation and general deterrence, particularly where a professional abuses both a legal and familial position of trust.
Aggravating factors included the significant amount of money, multiple victims, prolonged deception, and breach of trust as a lawyer.
The court concluded that a conditional sentence was inappropriate and imposed a custodial sentence.
Assault conviction set aside; section 38(2) of the Criminal Code creates a defence limitation, not an independent offence.
The appellant, a high school student, appealed his conviction for assault arising from an incident where he attempted to retrieve his confiscated cell phone from a teacher.
The trial judge convicted the appellant by relying on section 38(2) of the Criminal Code, which deems a trespasser who persists in taking property to commit an assault without justification.
On appeal, the Superior Court of Justice held that section 38(2) is intended to restrict the availability of defences, not to create an independent offence.
The court found the trial judge erred in law by using section 38(2) as a sword rather than a shield, and by failing to properly analyze the elements of assault under section 265(1)(b).
The conviction was set aside and a new trial ordered.
