Bill C-16 quietly rewrites how homicide gets classified in Canada, adding four grounds that turn a proven murder into first degree without proof of planning — and nudging manslaughter sentences toward life imprisonment. We break down the changes and what they mean for defending these cases.
A rare split outcome on a multi-warrant Charter challenge — the same surveillance and CI evidence supported the vehicle warrants but fell short for the residence, offering defence counsel a useful template for warrant-by-warrant facial validity attacks.
In a 7-2 split, the Supreme Court of Canada has reinstated the six-month mandatory minimum for obtaining sexual services from a minor, overturning the Quebec Court of Appeal’s finding that it was unconstitutional. The bigger story for defence counsel isn’t the outcome in Denis itself — it’s how the Court rebuilt the reasonable-hypothetical test on the way there, stripping out sympathetic facts before weighing proportionality and setting a tougher bar for the next mandatory-minimum challenge.
In R v Okeymow, a man who illegally sold a rifle to a troubled teenager was convicted of manslaughter when that teenager later killed two police officers. The court held the firearm sale was a significant contributing cause and that the shooter’s conduct did not sever the chain. Defence lawyers in firearms and drug-death files need to read this one carefully — the Crown’s causation theory just got stronger.
Pre-sentence reports carry weight well beyond the sentencing hearing — correctional and parole authorities rely on them throughout a client’s sentence. In R. v. Desormeaux, Justice Doyle struck a defective PSR in its entirety and ordered a fresh one from a different probation officer, providing the clearest Ontario articulation to date of when structural relief is warranted. Here is what defence counsel should be looking for every time a PSR lands on their desk.
In R. v. Berg, 2026 SCC 21, the Supreme Court unanimously held that trial judges should not rely on R. v. J.J.R.D. when structuring W.(D.) analyses or directing juries. The Court confirmed that a conviction cannot rest on a “considered and reasoned acceptance” of a complainant’s testimony alone — proof beyond a reasonable doubt always demands more. A must-read for defence counsel in any credibility-driven trial.
Dennis Okeymow didn’t pull the trigger. But on May 26, 2026, he became the first person in Canadian history to be convicted of manslaughter for selling a firearm — after the teenager he sold it to killed two Edmonton police officers. The verdict turns on a deceptively simple question: when does a gun seller’s liability end?
Ontario police are quietly deploying on-device investigative tools (ODITs) — state-grade spyware capable of intercepting encrypted messages, activating cameras, and logging keystrokes. Active prosecutions in Windsor and Brampton are raising urgent constitutional questions about warrants, disclosure, and the right to make full answer and defence. This article breaks down the legal issues defence counsel need to understand now.
The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized intimate partner violence as a standalone tort in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia. For criminal defence lawyers, this is not someone else’s problem. It changes how domestic files resolve, what goes on the record at trial, and what clients need to hear before they plead guilty.
The Supreme Court of Canada released a landmark decision today recognizing intimate partner violence as a standalone basis for civil liability, departing from the longstanding position that existing torts adequately addressed the harm.
