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8.                                                                                    R. v. Schoenborn, 2010 BCSC 220 (CanLII)     

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8.                                                                                    R. v. Schoenborn, 2010 BCSC 220 (CanLII)     

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A murder case, in which defendant raised the defense as Mental Disorder.

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6.                                                                Is Canada's bail system working well?

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6.                                                                Is Canada's bail system working well?

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Before trial, and be found guilty, anyone is considered as innocent. Even someone is charged withe two counts of first-degree murder still can be granted a bail in Canada. Because it can prevent innocent people suffering harm from being denied a bail.

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Christopher Husbands, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder in the Toronto Eaton Centre shooting, was on bail for sexual assault at the time of the shooting. There is no doubt he should have been at home under house arrest and nowhere near the Eaton Centre when the shootings took place. Husbands was blatantly in breach of his bail conditions.

As a result recent media pieces have slammed the bail system. Newspaper headlines claim "Clueless JPs" fail to protect the public. National Post columnist Christie Blatchford wrote, "Court insiders - prosecutors, defence lawyers, clerks, judges and reporters - know that what happens in bail court is often a farce."

All this makes for good reading but, like many exciting stories, it is largely fiction. Our bail system works and works well.

Reasonable bail is a right guaranteed to all Canadians by our constitution. The constitution provides: "Any person charged with an offence has the right ... not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause." This is a right that the courts properly take very seriously. People accused of crimes have not been found guilty; to put someone in jail, without a trial, when they may be innocent is not something that should done casually or as a matter of course.

In most cases bail is granted on the consent of the Crown. Only when release is opposed by the Crown is a bail hearing held. Bail hearings are serious matters thoroughly considered by trained judicial officers, usually Justices of the Peace. Justices of the Peace, far from being "clueless," have specific and extensive legal training, both when appointed and on an ongoing basis, in bail issues. They form a cadre of highly skilled professionals; they are specialists in bail and are often far more knowledgeable and probing than the lawyers appearing before them.

Bail hearings themselves often have hours of testimony from police and civilian witnesses followed by lengthy legal submissions. Since bail hearings take place shortly after arrest, and often before police investigations are complete, much that is said in a bail hearing later turns out to be false. Justices of the Peace on bail hearings have to work with limited and contradictory information; it is hardly surprising that errors are occasionally made.

Sometimes (as seems to have happened with the Eaton Centre case) bad people are released when they should not be. But sometimes innocent people are held pending trial and the months or years spent waiting in jail can never be recovered.

While Christopher Husbands is held up as proof the bail system is too lax, many forget Byron Sonne. Charged with explosives charges at the time of the G20 summit in Toronto, Sonne was denied bail and kept behind bars for nearly a year waiting for trial. In that time Sonne's marriage crumbled and his business was destroyed. At trial Sonne was acquitted of all charges. Sonne stands as an example of an innocent accused denied bail and suffering harm he can never recover.

Despite the errors, overall a good balance is struck between protecting society and respecting the fact that those accused of crime may be innocent. Terms of release are carefully structured to protect the public. And almost always the releases work well.

According to recent statistics, almost 97% of persons on bail checked by police in Toronto (on a targeted, priority basis) comply with their release conditions. Since the police only check the high-risk offenders likely to breach, the actual compliance rate is almost certainly higher. While any breach of bail conditions is troubling, most breaches are minor; a serious breach always leads to an immediate re-arrest and usually incarceration until trial.

It's easy to blame the justice system when something goes wrong. And the system did go wrong in the Husbands case. But that error does not point out systemic problems. Canadians can rest easy. The bail system works.

National Post
James Morton is a past president of the Ontario Bar Association and a lawyer in Ontario and Nunavut. He has conducted countless bail hearings.

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James Morton: Canada's bail system is working just fine

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Christopher Husbands, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder in the Toronto Eaton Centre shooting, was on bail for sexual assault at the time of the shooting. There is no doubt he should have been at home under house arrest and nowhere near the Eaton Centre when the shootings took place.

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5.                                                              Bail 

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5.                                                              Bail 

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A defendant can apply a bail before trial. According to the  Section 11(e) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause.

Read more: http://www.torontodefencelawyers.com/blog/general-category/section-11-canadian-charter-rights-freedoms/#ixzz4Dmlu6qRp

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3.                                                               First-degree Murder vs Second-degree Murder vs Manslaughter

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3.                                                               First-degree Murder vs Second-degree Murder vs Manslaughter

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In order to distinguish those three type homicides, purpose (plan) and intention of causing death are two important elements.

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First degree murder is murder which is planned and deliberate.

Sentencing for first degree murder is very simple. We do not have capital punishment in Canada so a person who is convicted of first degree murder is sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The calculation for those 25 years begins when the person has been arrested and placed in custody, not when they are convicted and found guilty. There is no discretion on the part of the judge; that is the minimum sentence and it is automatic.

It is also important to know that, if you kill a police officer in the course of his duty, it is automatically a first degree charge even if it was not planned and deliberate. If you murder someone in a course of a sexual assault or forced confinement then the charge is also first degree and called constructive first degree murder. You may not have planned it and deliberated about it, but if in the course of a sexual assault, confinement or a kidnapping the victim ends up dying and you are responsible for their death, it is deemed to be first degree murder.

Second degree murder is defined as all other murder other than first degree murder. So, if you do not plan and you do not deliberate about it but you still intend to kill someone, that is second degree murder. The sentencing ranges from life in jail with no parole for 10 years to 25 years until you are eligible for parole. If there are mitigating factors the jury can recommend the minimum.

After the time is served in prison on a sentence for first or second degree murder, you still report to a parole officer for the rest of your life. If you fail any of the requirements that are set out in your conditions of release on parole, there is no hearing and you go right back to jail.

If somebody is committing an illegal act and causes the death of an individual then they are found guilty of manslaughter. Though the person died, there was no intention to cause death. Perhaps, there was only an intention to hurt someone but if a person dies because of that criminal act, the charge is manslaughter. The sentencing options for manslaughter are very complicated because there is no minimum. You can get anything from probation (which is unlikely) to life in jail. Often individuals found guilty of manslaughter will serve medium range penitentiary terms, in the neighbourhood of 7 to 15 years.

If someone is killed as a result of someone's impaired driving, that is a separate offence. The offence is called "impaired driving causing death." If, however, the driving is so egregious, as in street racing while impaired, for instance, the charge would be "criminal negligence causing death" and its sentencing will be more severe.

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If you, or someone you care about, is dealing with criminal law issues in the Ottawa, Ontario Region, contact Engel and Associates for a consultation.

This article is taken from a March 25, 2008 interview with Bruce Engel, Criminal Lawyer with Engel and Associates, an Ottawa, Ontario Criminal Law Firm. Note that laws vary from province to province. Please consult with a lawyer in your own area to be sure of the laws and specific issues in your own jurisdiction.

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The Distinction Between First And Second Degree Murder And Manslaughter

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First degree murder is murder which is planned and deliberate. Sentencing for first degree murder is very simple. We do not have capital punishment in Canada so a person who is convicted of first degree murder is sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

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1.                                                          Criminal Offence  

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1.                                                          Criminal Offence  

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A crime is an offence against to whole society, not simply against a particular victim.  In Canada, a crime offence is prosecuted by the state. The prosecution is carried out in the name of the Queen. And the government lawyer, who is referred to as Crown prosecutor, prosecutes the case before the courts.

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7.                                                  Defences in Canadian Criminal Law  

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7.                                                  Defences in Canadian Criminal Law  

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There are couple defences in Canadian Criminal Law. But some comes from common law, some are created by criminal law.

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Uploaded by Karan Bateriwala on 2015-01-09.

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4.                                                                          Canadian Criminal Trial Process

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4.                                                                          Canadian Criminal Trial Process

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Criminal Proceedings include three steps: Process, Pre-trial Procedure, and Trial. After trail, the defendant will be found guilty or acquitted of the charge. A similar Canadian Criminal Trial Process is showed in the video.

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2.                                                        What is Murder?  

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2.                                                        What is Murder?  

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The definition of Murder can be found in this video. Also, the two elements make up of a murder offence.