Category: Uncategorized

Life has a habit of throwing you curves. There can be situations where, in a million years, you would have never expected that you would need to hire a criminal defence lawyer. Domestic abuse allegations are very serious and can have dire consequences for the person accused of family relations, including custody and access to children. In Ontario, there are mandatory charge polices that result in a charge or charges being laid with only the statement of the complainant to substantiate the allegations. The person who is accused of such an offence has his or her life turned upside down…

It is no mystery why Ontario law enforcement and safety advocates urge drivers to stay off the road after they have been using any substances that may result in impairment. Driving under the influence of drugs, even certain prescription drugs, raises the possibility that you will be involved in a motor vehicle accident that could cause you or others to suffer serious or fatal injuries. For this reason, if the police pull you over under suspicion that you have been taking drugs, your options may be limited. An arrest and conviction for driving under the influence of drugs can have a devastating…

We have seen a significant shift in the criminal justice system over the past two years that has and will continue to erode the ability of an individual's right to make full answer and defence to allegations of sexual assault. The most controversial changes as proposed by Bill C-51 is to automatically exclude relevant evidence in the possession of the accused. Text messages, emails, pictures, video recordings, even thank you cards, that have any content related in any way to "sex" with the complainant will be presumptively inadmissible even though it involves the actual subject matter of the alleged sexual…

As an accountant in Ontario, you would not have been where you are without investing substantial resources into gaining the qualifications necessary to practice your profession. For this reason, society typically holds CPAs to high standards of conduct. If you face allegations of misconduct, your personal and professional reputation could suffer significant harm that might even have long-term consequences. Your chosen field of work can be intensely competitive with mounting pressure to perform. If someone accuses you of straying into questionable activities, proactive steps to obtain skilled legal counsel may put you in the best position to protect yourself. Know…

Professional misconduct among educators in Ontario can take on different forms, and the severity can range from allegations of harm done directly to students to acts that could be detrimental to the profession. Misconduct charges against educators do not always involve actions that occurred on campus, nor do they always involve members of the school or college community. Unfortunately, almost all allegations of misconduct are severe and could have dire consequences -- even if there are no grounds for them. If you are a teacher, you have most likely worked extremely hard to reach your professional status. Allegations of misconduct after your…

A review of the recent Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Regina v. Grant On July 17, 2009, the Supreme Court released R. v. Grant and three other companion cases, reformulating how courts ought to deal with evidence obtained in breach of the Charter. A fulsome reconsideration of this important issue has been long overdue in the wake of confusion arising from the Court's last major treatise on the subject in1997, R. v. Stillman. As the Chief Justice and Justice Charron noted in Grant, "existing jurisprudence on the...exclusion of evidence is difficult to apply and may lead to unsatisfactory results." [ 1] In…

Citizens of Ontario have a right to fair treatment at the hands of the law, regardless of who they are. The mere suspicion of wrong-doing is not justification for detention, or arrest. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to a Toronto man who was detained and searched without probable cause. On Aug. 21, 2008, Toronto Police officers stopped a man who had just parked his Jaguar near Parkdale Collegiate, in the Queen St. W. and Lansdowne Ave. area. The two arresting officers gave different reasons to the court for the stop, one saying it was for a seat belt infraction, the other claiming…

Police officers must often rely on their instincts to tell them when something does not look right. Sometimes though, gut feelings need to be held in check by the letter of the law. Simple suspicion is not reason enough to detain a person without just cause. In the case of a search for drugs east of Toronto, a judge recently ruled in favour of a defendant when the search was deemed to be the result of profiling. A Durham Regional Police officer pulled over what he claimed was a suspicious-looking vehicle in Whitby, Ontario, in Sept. 2014. A black man was driving the car,…

Throughout the Greater Toronto Area, residents rely upon their cellphones for communication. Whether that communication takes the form of talking, texting or email, few who have smartphones can likely imagine going back to a time when they were not available to use. Their popularity has ramifications in many different parts of life including criminal investigations. Specifically, questions have arisen regarding what information contained within the phone is discoverable to law enforcement. Recently the issue has been in the spotlight with our neighbor to the south as federal investigators in the United States seek to access the content of an iPhone…

We have previously written about the important role evidence can play in establishing guilt or innocence related to a criminal charge. That evidence must be obtained in accordance with certain rules. Among other things, the evidence collected must not be overbroad. These rules are in place to protect the civil rights of residents of Ontario. Recently, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled on a matter of this nature related to the collection of cell phone records. The case arose out of law enforcement's effort to collect personal information of cell phone users who were in a specific area when some jewelry stores…