Week 2 Flashcards
Presumption of Innocence
- “Golden thread”
- S. 11(d) of Charter protects right to be assumed innocent
Criminal Standard of Proof
- Beyond a reasonable doubt (not based on sympathy or prejudice but on reason and common sense)
- Crown bears the burden (or onus) of proof
Categories of Offences
- Offence punishable by summary conviction
- Indictable offences
- Hybrid offences (deemed Indictable until Crown elects method of proceeding)
Summary Conviction Proceedings
- Arrest -> Trial before Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ)
- Appeal to Superior Court of Justice (SCJ)
Proceedings by Indictment
- Arrest -> Trial before Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ)
- Arrest -> Preliminary Inquiry (OCJ) -> Trial (Superior Court of Justice)
- Appeals to Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA)
- Further appeals to SCC
Actus Reus
*Combination of; conduct, consequence and circumstance
-Legal aspects;
~Commit unlawful act
~Omission to perform legal duty
~Voluntariness
~Causation
Public Mischief
- Intent to mislead (cause peace officer to begin/continue investigation where the offence reported has not been committed
- An indictable offence
- Punishable by summary conviction
Voluntariness
-The actus reus must be a voluntary act
-No actus reus exists unless it is the result of a “willing mind at liberty” to make a choice/decision
~Intoxication (defence)
Causation
- Legal question of whether a cause-and-effect relationship exists between the actions of the accused and the consequences that are an element of the offence
- Standard ; acts must be a significant contributing cause
Legal Duties to Act (General Principle in Canadian Law)
- Criminal responsibility for omissions is limited to cases where a legal duty (distinguished from a moral duty) to act exists
- Very few cases you have a duty to act
Moral Duty to Act
-Wanting to intervene because you think it is proper and a moral must
Subjective Test
-What was actually in the mind of the accused at the moment the offence occurred
~Did the accused foresee the consequences?
Objective Test
-Was there a marked departure from the standard of care of a reasonable person?
~Should the accused foreseen the consequences?
R. v. Jobidon (SCC)
-In Canada you cannot consent to getting in a fight
-Man gets in fight at a bar (kicked out)
-Continued fight outside
-Jobidon punched other person and he fell/hit head
~Jobidon continued to punch and killed person
Duty to Act Examples
- An abused child - your duty is to call Child’s Aid
- Duty (common law) to provide child with necessities of life
- If you start a fire you must put it out or call authorities
