Chris Sewrattan Profile picture
Criminal lawyer. Instructor at @LincAlexLawTMU
Dec 3, 2021 5 tweets 2 min read
R. v. Alexis-McLymont, 2021 ONCA 858 at para 22: A jury that is considering only circumstantial evidence for a charge does not necessarily have to be told that guilt must be the only reasonable inference
ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2021… I am confused about another aspect of the decision. To be fair, though, I haven't done any research on the topic.
Nov 23, 2021 4 tweets 1 min read
R. v. D.Q., 2021 ONCA 827: No harm, no foul. The Crown can rely on the proviso to cure a procedural irregularity where there is no prejudice to the accused person.
ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2021… Without having done any research, I'm not sure that excluding the accused person from their own trial is actually a procedural regularity. It seems like an error of law; that law is s. 650(1) of the Code. If (big If) I'm right and this really is an error of law...
Oct 17, 2021 12 tweets 3 min read
R. v. Khill, 2021 SCC 37: The phrase “the person’s role in the incident” in Canada's self-defence law casts a wide net. It refers to all of the accused’s conduct during the course of the incident that is relevant to whether their defence was reasonable.
scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-cs… The victim in this case was an Indigenous man. That's not in the decision.
Oct 12, 2021 9 tweets 2 min read
R. v. Morris, 2021 ONCA 680: How trial judges should consider evidence of anti-Black racism on sentencing. I can't add much to Reakash's analysis. Here are smaller thoughts.
ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2021… Morris doesn't really say anything new. Defence lawyers should provide the sentencing judge with a detailed report on how anti-black racism impacted their client. The judge should consider whether this ⬇️ the client's blameworthiness and ⬆️the need for rehabilitation.
May 21, 2021 5 tweets 1 min read
R. v. Marshall, 2021 ONCA 344 at paras. 51-52: Summers credit deducts from the sentence. Duncan credit shapes the sentence.
ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2021… Looked at in a practical way, an aggravating circumstance can reduce Duncan credit, but it cannot reduce Summers credit.