Appeal of sentence and return to custody
The Court of Appeal has the power to intervene to modify a sentence imposed in first instance when it is demonstrated that the sentence is demonstrably inappropriate or that the judge made an error in principle affecting the sentence. At this point, the Court must analyze all the relevant elements in order to substitute the initial sentence with the appropriate sentence. In addition, when a sentence is increased, but the accused has already served it and has been released, the Court must assess the impact of ordering the accused’s return to custody and determine whether it would cause injustice.
The Right to Retain and Instruct Counsel of Your Choice
The right to retain and instruct counsel, protected by section 10 (2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, includes the right to chose one’s counsel. Its violation cannot be trivialized even if the person has been able to obtain the assistance of duty counsel. Where this right is infringed upon, its assessment and its impact on the justice will depend on the circumstances of the case.
The limits to the inviolability of the home
One of the oldest tenets of Canadian Law is the principle that a person’s home is inviolable. Canadian case law recognizes, however, particularly since R. v. Evans of the Supreme Court of Canada, the principle of “implied invitation”. In this case, the operation consists of sending an undercover agent to knock on the door of the residence and inform the occupant that “everyone has just been arrested” and that “the boss is saying to get rid the stock ”. He therefore urges the occupier to “hand over the stock” to him so that he can deal with it.
Unreasonable delays per Jordan, but justifiable
With this decision, the Court of Appeal adopts the lessons of R. v. J.F. in order to establish whether an unreasonable delay in Jordan’s view can be justified by the exceptional transitional measure. This in itself recognizes that all delays that were considered reasonable the day before Jordan must not automatically become unreasonable the next day.