Section 7: Life, Liberty, & Security of the Person
R. v. Safarzadeh-Markhali, [2016] 1 SCR 180
The Truth in Sentencing Act reduced enhanced credit for time spent in pre‑sentence custody, which had previously been allowed at a rate of two days for every day of detention, to a mandatory 1:1 ratio for offenders who were denied bail primarily because of a prior conviction. Continue reading
R. v. Appulonappa, 2015 SCC 59
The accused were a group of Sri Lankan migrants apprehended from a ship off the west coast of British Columbia. They stood charged under s. 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which made it an offence to “organize, induce, aid or abet” the entry of people into Canada in a manner contrary with the Act. The accused mounted a constitutional challenge of s. 117 on the basis that it infringed the guarantee of “life, liberty, and security of the person” enshrined in s. 7 of the Charter. Continue reading
Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5
In Carter, the Supreme Court reconsidered the constitutionality of the prohibition on assisted suicide, which had previously been upheld in Rodriguez. Continue reading
Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 59
The Canadian Bar Association and Trial Lawyers Association mounted a constitutional challenge of hearing fees imposed by the Province of British Columbia. The fees in question amounted to between $500 and $800 per day of court time. In the context of a ten-day family trial, the fees amounted almost to the family’s net income for an entire month. Continue reading
Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72
The Respondents, a group of prostitutes and former prostitutes, argued that a number of Criminal Code provisions prohibiting expression and commercial activities relating to prostitution were in breach of Sections 7 and 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Continue reading
R. v. Ahmed-Kadir, 2013 BCCA 269
The appellant, Aras Ahmed-Kadir, had been convicted of four offences involving unlicensed handgun possession and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. After filing his Notice of Appeal, he applied for the equivalent of a Rowbotham order, asking the court to appoint counsel pursuant to Section 684 of the Criminal Code. Continue reading
R. v. Levkovic, 2013 SCC 25
Ivana Levkovic was charged under Section 243 of the Criminal Code with concealing the dead body of a child, after the remains of a newborn baby (allegedly “at or near full term”) was found in her vacated apartment. Levkovic challenged the constitutionality of Section 243 as being unconstitutionally vague, insofar as it related to a child which died before birth and was therefore stillborn. She argued that the law constituted an infringement on her right to liberty and interfered with every woman’s right not to disclose a naturally failed pregnancy. Continue reading
R. v. N.S., 2012 SCC 72
Two accused persons stood charged with sexually assaulting N.S. When called to testify, N.S. stated that she wished to wear a niqab which covered her face, and which she insisted was a necessary part of her Muslim faith. Continue reading
R. v. Hill, 2012 ONSC 5050
Roland Hill challenged the constitutionality of Section 753(1.1) of the Criminal Code, arguing that it violated the presumption of innocence and principles of fundamental justice insofar as shifted the burden of proof onto convicted offenders to demonstrate that they should not be prosecuted as “dangerous offenders.” Continue reading
R. v. Bellusci, 2012 SCC 44
The Appellant, Riccardo Bellusci, had been charged with assault and intimidation of a justice system participant after an altercation with a prison guard while being transported from court to jail. Mr. Bellusci was acquitted of the assault charges and a judicial stay of proceedings was entered in regard to the “intimidation” charge: Continue reading