The importance of the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause, and the intertwined presumption of innocence, were recently reiterated by the Supreme Court of Canada in the context of the bail hearing process.
In the summer of 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada made headlines with their decision in R v Jordan, 2016 SCC 27. Within a year, they had been asked to revisit that decision and walk back the test they imposed. In June 2017 they declined to do that.
Following the release of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, an interesting bifurcation in the law has taken hold in Alberta. In that decision, Canada’s top court set clear ceilings over which a delay is considered presumptively unreasonable.
The Liberal government took the first step in overhauling Canada’s impaired driving (DUI) laws by announcing that it will seek to eliminate the requirement for police to first have a reasonable suspicion that there is alcohol in the driver’s body prior to making a roadside screening demand.
The Alberta Court of Appeal recently upheld the admissibility of a “Mr. Big” statement made by one of the accuseds in a tragic case where a young life was lost too soon: R. v. Magoon, 2016 ABCA 412.