Celebrating 200 Blog Posts!


Thanks to all those who follow me following the law.  I began the blog in November of 2016; lots more to come.     


              "Law never is, but is always about to be."
Benjamin Cardozo

Stuart O'Connell, O'Connell Law Group (leadersinlaw.ca)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Edgar Statements: an Exception to the Rule Against Prior Consistent Statements

It is open to a trial judge to admit an accused's spontaneous out-of-court statements made upon arrest or when first confronted with an accusation as an exception to the general rule excluding prior consistent statements as evidence of the reaction of the accused to the accusation and as proof of consistency, provided the accused takes the stand and exposes himself or herself to cross- examination. The statement of the accused is not strictly evidence of the truth of what was said (subject to being admissible under the principled approach to hearsay evidence) but is evidence of the reaction of the accused, which is relevant to the credibility of the accused and as circumstantial evidence that may have a bearing on guilt or innocence. As a practical matter, once the accused has testified, he or she should be entitled to call in reply the police officer who heard and recorded the statement to verify to the jury the fact that it was made. R. v. Edgar, 2010 ONCA 529 In sum...
Read more

Police Powers: Random Vehicle Stops

Random Vehicle Stops under the HTA The Highway Traffic Act of Ontario (specifically, section 216(1)) of the Act) allows a police officer to stop a motor vehicle even in the absence of a reasonable suspicion of an offence having been committed providing it is done for the purpose of general traffic regulation such as checking for a valid driver’s license and insurance, mechanical fitness of the vehicle and the sobriety of the driver. In short, there is a statutory basis for police to stop vehicles for the purpose of highway regulation and safety, even where the stops are random. Brown v. Durham , at para. 21; R. v. Ladouceur , [1990] 1 S.C.R. 1257, at p. 1288; R. v. Simpson (1993), 79 C.C.C. (3d) 482 (Ont. C.A.), at p. 492. Equivalent legislation in Canada’s other provinces provides likewise. See, for instance, section 201.1 of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Highway Traffic Act , R.S.N.L. 1990, c. H-3, and British Columbia’s Motor Vehicle Act, [RSBC 1996] Chap...
Read more

Post-event Demeanour of a Sexual Assault Victim

When assessing the credibility of a witness, there are a number of factors to consider. These may include a witness’s reactions to events. It has long been held that post-event demeanour of a sexual assault victim can be used as circumstantial evidence to corroborate the complainant’s version of events. R. v. J.J.A . , 2011 SCC 17, [2011] 1 S.C.R. 628, at paras. 40-41, per Rothstein J. in dissent.   [ The majority decision, written by Charron, J., had ordered a new trial, solely ruling on the admissibility of fresh evidence, and so had not found it necessary to deal with the issue of post-event demeanour of the complainant ].   See also R. v. J.A. , 2010 ONCA 491 (CanLII), at paras. 17 and 18 [renamed R. v. J.J.A  on appeal to the SCC]; R. v. Mugabo , 2017 ONCA 323 at para 25. In R. v. James , [2014] S.C.J. No. 5 , at paragraph 5 , Moldaver, J., speaking for the unanimous Supreme Court of Canada remarked that “…the trial judge failed to consider the compl...
Read more