The Defence Toolkit

The Defence Toolkit serves up summaries and commentary on the editor’s choice of the three best Canadian criminal defence cases every week. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to get notified of new posts.

The Defence Toolkit – September 26, 2026: More Unsavoury Witnesses

by Pawel Milczarek | 26 September 2026 | NCRMD, Reasonable Apprehension of Bias, Vetrovec Witnesses | 0 Comments

This week's top three summaries: R v Rosbergen, 2026 BCCA 314: Vetrovec #caution, R v Rashid, 2026 BCCA 364: NCRMD rejected, R v MM, 2026 ONCA 617: excessive #intervention R v Rosbergen, 2026 BCCA 314 [July 23, 2026] Vetrovec Caution: The Warning must be of Extreme Caution, the Greatest Care, Unsafe or Dangerous [Reasons by Fleming J.A. with Mayer and MacNaughton JJ.A. concurring] AUTHOR'S NOTE: A proper Vetrovec warning must provide the jury with a sufficiently sharp caution about the danger...

The Defence Toolkit – September 19, 2026: Uneven Scrutiny

by Pawel Milczarek | 19 September 2026 | Adverse Inference to a Party, Delayed Reasons, Uneven Scrutiny | 0 Comments

This week's top three summaries: R v Hornsby, 2026 ONCA 604: uneven #scrutiny, R v Qita, 2026 ONCA 554: #delay in reasons, R v White Cow, 2026 ABCJ 117: #witness uncalled R v Hornsby, 2026 ONCA 604 [August 27, 2026] Uneven Scrutiny: General Credibility Assessments Cannot Replace Count by Count Proof [Reasons by Roberts J.A. with M. Tulloch C.J.O. and J. Dawe JJ.A. concurring] AUTHOR'S NOTE: A generalized finding that a witness—particularly an accused—is not credible cannot become a fixed lens...

The Defence Toolkit – September 12, 2026: Youthful Witnesses

by Pawel Milczarek | 12 September 2026 | Air of Reality, Credibility, Omissions, Self-Defence, Sexual Offences Against Children | 0 Comments

This week's top three summaries: R v Lovell, 2026 BCCA 361: #child witnesses, R v DV, 2026 ONCA 611: #omissions, R v Simms, 2026 BCCA 363: air of #reality R v Lovell, 2026 BCCA 361 [September 1, 2026] Child Witnesses: Material Inconsistencies, Inaccuracies, Exaggerations and Embellishment are Significant Despite Youth of Witness [Reasons by Winteringham J.A. with Edelmann and Francis JJ.A. concurring] AUTHOR'S NOTE: The youthful age of a witness, particularly a complainant in a sexual assault...

The Defence Toolkit – August 1, 2026: Theory of the Offence

Aug 1, 2026

This week's top three summaries: R v Massicotte, 2026 ONCA 5269: #Crown theory , R v Suksawat, 2026 ABKB 536: s.8 grounds for #phones, R v Adriatico, 2026 ONSC 4079: NCRMD #morally wrong R v Massicotte, 2026 ONCA 526 [July 20, 2026] Court Must Evaluate Crown Legal...

The Defence Toolkit – July 25, 2026: Sleepwalking

Jul 25, 2026

This week's top three summaries: R v DW, 2026 ABKB 519: #sleepwalk sex , R v Samandari-Matof, 2026 ABCA 55: #possession, R v Olafson, 2026 ABCJ 92: 11(b) court #overbooking R v DW, 2026 ABKB 519 [July 17, 2026] Sexual Assault Voluntariness: Sleepwalking [A.K. Akgungor...

The Defence Toolkit – July 17, 2026: An Open Crate

Jul 17, 2026

This week's top three summaries: R v Parsley, 2026 NLCA 23: s.8 unusual #freight , R v Marjanovic, 2026 MBCA 61: #consecutive to life, R v MacKinnon, 2026 NSCA 54: #functus R v Parsley, 2026 NLCA 23 [June 29, 2026] Charter s.8: Freight Delivery [Reasons by D.M. Boone...

The Defence Toolkit – July 11, 2026: The Unsavoury Witness

Jul 11, 2026

This week's top three summaries: R v Drake, 2026 NSCA 48: Vetrovec #confirmation, R v VRRR, 2026 MBCA 56: human #assumptions , R v Murphy and Wright, 2026 NSCA 51: #judicial notice mistrial R v Drake, 2026 NSCA 48 [June 17, 2026] Vetrovec: Confirmatory Evidence...

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The Defence Toolkit – July 4, 2026: Police Discipline Disclosure

Jul 4, 2026

This week's top three summaries: Edmonton (PS) v McKee, 2026 SCC 24: #discipline disclosure, R v Brennan, 2026 ONCA 459: circumstantial #possession, R v Sandhu, 2026 BCCA 268: #admissions and circular reasoning Edmonton (Police Service) v McKee, 2026 SCC 24 [June 26,...

The Defence Toolkit – June 26, 2026: DNA Retention

Jun 26, 2026

This week's top three summaries: R v Vu, 2026 ONCA 429: #DNA retention, R v Ghandi, 2026 ONCA 407: virtual trial ID, R v AK, 2026 NUCA 4: rushed #deliberations R v Vu, 2026 ONCA 429 [June 17, 2026] Sentencing: Conditional Discharges and DNA Retention [Reasons by...

The Defence Toolkit – June 20, 2026: Fingerprints

Jun 20, 2026

This week's top three summaries: R v Kirkey, 2026 BCSC 973: #fingerprints, R v Esrabian, 2026 CanLii 53667: faint #hope, R v Slade, 2026 ONCA 381: command #hallucinations R v Kirkey, 2026 BCSC 973 [May 15, 2026] Circumstantial Evidence: Fingerprints [Gibb-Carsley J.]...

The Defence Toolkit – June 12, 2026: Trust and Authority

Jun 12, 2026

This week's top three summaries: R v Duke, 2026 SKCA 65: position of #trust, R v CATSA, 2026 ONSC 3077: general #warrant, R v Berg, 2026 SCC 21: W(D) trumps JJRD R v Duke, 2026 SKCA 65 [May 25, 2026] Position of Trust and Authority: Dissipation of Authority Over Time...

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