Archive for March, 2021

Joseph A. Neuberger, Neuberger & Partners LLP Criminal Lawyers Toronto   In a March 3, 2021 Ontario Court of Appeal decision, Justice Paciocco addressed the growing complexity in defining what comprises a stereotype in sexual assault trials. R. v. J.C., 2021 ONCA 131 offered a number of opportunities to examine how the accused are being blocked from adducing properly relevant evidence. The first issue of stereotypes arose in relation to...
Continue reading The Role of “Common Sense” in Sexual Assault Trials...

Neuberger & Partners LLP Criminal Lawyers   In the 1990s, the news media couldn’t get enough of New York mobster John Gotti and how he always seemed to “beat the rap”. As a result of his successes at trial, he was dubbed the Teflon Don and was consistently on the cover of various magazines and newspapers. Our society’s love affair with the Italian mafia has no doubt been influenced by...
Continue reading Justice must be seen to be done: Breach of Solicitor and Client Privilege in Wiretap Cases...

Joseph A. Neuberger, Neuberger & Partners LLP Criminal Lawyers   In a recent BC sexual assault appeal, R. v. N.P., 2021 BCCA 25, the Crown conceded that a retrial was warranted after the trial judge improperly used prior consistent statements to corroborate the complainant's testimony. The Court of Appeal issued their decision, elaborating on how "narrative as circumstantial evidence" should be properly used at trial. This exception may form an...
Continue reading The Risks of “Narrative as Circumstantial Evidence”...

Joseph A. Neuberger, Neuberger & Partners LLP Criminal Lawyer   Two similar, though not identical, Crown appeals of sexual assault acquittals were heard in the Nova Scotia and Alberta Courts of Appeal in January 2021 with two very different outcomes. In R. v. Nelson, 2021 NSCA 11, the Crown unsuccessfully argued that "the trial judge erred in law by making findings of fact which were not supported by the evidence...
Continue reading A Tale of Two Crown Appeals...