LawyerSelect.ca - Criminal Law Blog

Do I Need The Other Person’s Permission To Record A Conversation? This blog has been brought to you by LawyerSelect.ca There is a lot of misleading information out there about the law in Canada regarding recorded conversations. Some of that misinformation is as a result of American laws finding their way to Canadians through television shows and other mediums. As it stands, the law in Canada states that it’s legal to record a conversation so long as one of the parties to the conversation consents. That means if you’re a party to the conversation, then you can legally record it, since you’re giving your consent. So, to be clear, you’re always allowed to record a conversation that you’re a party to without notifying the other party or parties or obtaining their consent. However, the law is entirely different when the conversation in question is between other people, to which you’re not a party. As such, Canadian law makes a clear distinction between the legality of re...

Think Twice Before Helping Out A Fugitive Aiding & Abetting This blog has been brought to you courtesy of  LawyerSelect.ca In  Dunlop and Sylvester v. R ,  the appellants were twice tried and convicted on a charge of rape. The indictment alleges that they did unlawfully have sexual intercourse with the victim without her consent. The appellants contend that they did no such thing, but rather, they were merely spectators at an event of which they had no prior knowledge.  On appeal to the Manitoba Court of Appeal, the court found an error in the trial judge’s charge to the jury when he instructed them on the meaning of sec. 21(1)(b) of the  CC . The trail judges read the following charge in response to a question by the jury: “Intentionally omitting to do something for the purpose of aiding another to commit an offence, that if it had been done, would have prevented or hindered the person from committing an offence amounts to aiding and ab...

IF I HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD, CAN I STILL ACT AS A SURETY? This blog is brought to you courtesy of LawyerSelect.ca Let’s first begin by explaining what a surety is, and what they do. Put simply, a surety is often required when an accused person is granted bail and released from custody. The Surety Explained – When someone is charged with a criminal offence, sometimes they are released at the police station, and some other times they’re held until they can go before a court who will then decide if they get released on bail. A great majority of the time, the court will require that the accused have a surety in order to get bail. As such, a surety is basically someone who promises the court that they’ll keep an eye on the accused, until his or her charges have been dealt with. They’re usually required to live with the accused, supervise the accused, and ensure that the accused obeys all the terms of the bail agreement. Some examples of these terms are: ·  ...

Former Maple Leaf Captain Rick Vaive Not Guilty Of Impaired Driving This blog is brought to you courtesy of  L awyerSelect.ca On April 12, 2012, the Toronto Star ran an article covering the acquittal of former Toronto Maple Leafs captain, Rick Vaive, and staying true-to-form, its readers were not short of comments and/or critique on the trial's outcome. As I read through the comments section at the bottom of the article, I began noticing that the majority of readers simply could not understand this "two-hour" rule. Put simply, the "two-hour" rule requires police to administer the first Intoxilyzer breath test back at the station within two hours of the time of driving. In the majority of cases, the "time of driving clock" begins ticking when you get pulled over, but there are scenarios where that is not the case, like if you've already made it home before the cops show up at your door. If the tests aren't taken within that two ho...

The Classification of Offences in Canada This blog is brought to you courtesy of  LawyerSelect.ca Summary Conviction Offences These types of offences can only be heard in the Court of Criminal Jurisdiction. They a re also time bared under the Statute of Limitations – a charge can only be laid prior to 6 months after the commission of the crime – sec. 786(2) of the  Criminal Code .  A summary conviction charge will begin with a document called an information (which contains alleged facts by the police and prosecution on the case).  The maximum sentence for a summary conviction offence is 6 months imprisonment or a $2,000 fine, or both. Appeals for summary conviction offences are heard in the province’s Superior Court. Indictable Offences An accused can choose the trial either to be heard by a provincial court judge in the Court of Criminal Jurisdiction, a Superior Court Judge in the Superior Court of Criminal Jurisdiction, or by a...