Criminal Code PFP3020 Written Assignment Research Case Law (15 marks)

Review a case from the Canadian Criminal Cases and produce a written summary. The written report should be 2-3 pages long single space. There must be a cover page (does not count for report length) and you must also attach a copy of the case as an appendix. Choose one of the cases from the list provided. The report should be typed using 12 font and incorporate headings as follows. Section (section of the Code the case applies to. Use the concordance to properly identify the current section number if it is an older case decision) Case Summary (briefly outline what happened; the circumstances of the incident) Legal Arguments (briefly outline the basis of the arguments of the appellant. (Crown or the Defense and what was relied on to support their position, such as previous case decisions, Charter of Rights arguments) 4) Final Ruling (what did the court decide.) 5) Impact on Law Enforcement (how does the decision affect how police operate) The report is due on Friday, November 18th 2011. It must be handed in at class on that date. If you complete it early I will accept it, on, or any time after November 11th. All reports will be returned at class on December 02th.

Cases:
R. v. Ewanchuk (1999) 1 SCR 330 1999-02-25 [Consent in sex offences] R. v. Paice (2005) SCC 22 2005-04-22 [Consensual fights] R. v. Cromwell (2008) NSCA 60 2008-07-03 [Criminal Harassment] R. v. Williams (2006) ONCJ 484 2006-12-15 [HIV aggravated assault]

Some Clarification Notes:

This report is a summary and should be in your own words as much as you can. I do not want excessive quoting or a report that consists of simply copy & pasting sections from the text of the case. Im looking for an indication you understand the material.

Case Law can sometimes be confusing to read. Often the language is quite legalistic. The judges are writing for review by other judges and lawyers so it is not their intention to simplify things. You may have to read portions more than once before it makes sense. Appeals to higher courts can be made by either the crown or the defense so the appellant can be either. These stated cases are appeals of lower court decisions and many times the written case starts by examining the lower court rulings, including the explanations of the lower court judges reasons for the decision. This is good information for background but remember this lower decision is being appealed and the initial decision rendered may be ruled to be wrong. If the appeal is to the Supreme Court of Canada, there may be two of these lower decisions that are outlined, one by the provincial judge and one by that provinces court of appeal. This is normally followed by a synopsis of actual events of the incident. The justices then examine the arguments put forward by the appellant. These will usually revolve around a Charter of Rights issue, a misinterpretation of one of the elements of the offence, or a rule of evidence admissibility issue. Appeal cases are generally heard by more than one judge. They are decided by majority. Often the decision is unanimous but sometimes there is a dissenter. The case is written by one of judges who supported the final court findings. This judge will sometimes include comments by other judges (including the dissenting judges). It is in the Appeal Judges comments that the best information is obtained. The annotations in Martins Code come from excerpts of these comments or findings. It may be clarification of a term or a procedure, or an explanation of the intention of the section. The final ruling is relevant in that it provides direction to lower courts and ultimately may affect how police conduct investigations. The impact on law enforcement may be to provide specific directions or guidelines such as the requirement or non requirement to contact a lawyer or it may just clarify an interpretation for future use by police.

This summary style of report will contain a lot of material/information taken directly from the Criminal Code and/or your case in question. This is recognized and Im not expecting you to cite every time you reference the material, as you would if you were writing an essay on a specified topic. Case Law can be accessed in the Library. The Library maintains all the Volumes of the Canadian Criminal Cases both (2nd) series and (3rd) series.

Case Law can also be accessed on-line at the Canadian Legal Information Institute. (www.canlii.org/index_en) If you need assistance or clarification with the assignment please contact me.