Chris Sewrattan
@SewrattanLaw
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Criminal Lawyer | Executive at @CLAOntario | Instructor at @LincAlexLawTMU
Toronto
Joined July 2014
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Long time listener, first time caller! I had a great time with Sean talking about our profession on his podcast.
An essential listen for anyone interested in criminal law. The latest Of Counsel episode with
@SewrattanLaw
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I have teamed up with my sister, Ashley Sewrattan, to form Sewrattan Criminal Lawyers. Check out our website
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What’s the difference between a Bi-Way employee and two lawyers at the Supreme Court of Canada? One generation.
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Great work by
@EmilyDixonLaw
and
@SherifMFoda
showing what criminal defence lawyering is all about by exposing what it is not. The two worked doggedly to ensure that a vulnerable woman was vindicated.
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I'm seeing a lot of this going around. It's important to be accurate. The Supreme Court said that a judge's reference to "a woman" was unfortunate because the judge wasn't referring to a point about women generally, but rather to the specific woman who testified. That's it.
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that it is "problematic" to refer to a female victim of sexual assault as a "woman," saying that people should say "person with a vagina" instead.
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Listen to how one of the smartest criminal lawyers in Canada,
@SherifMFoda
, responds to intense questioning at the Supreme Court of Canada
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Apropos of nothing, I'd like to reflect on my love of Western Canada, knowledge of criminal law and evidence, and over 10 years at the Bar.
The Supreme Court of Canada is the backbone of our country’s judicial system – and today, we opened the process to select its next justice. Qualified candidates can submit applications between now and Friday, July 21st. More details here:
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R. v. Abdullahi, 2021 ONCA 82 at paras. 111-116: A judge increased a Black man's sentence because, in the judge's view, a black man should be sentenced more harshly to avoid reinforcing bigoted beliefs 1/5
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R. v. Strybosch, 2021 ONSC 6109: A stay ordered because the unnamed Assistant Crown Attorney misled the defence about having new information that justified backing out of a resolution.
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Here are some reasons why I'm bothered by R. v. Stairs, 2022 SCC 11
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I dont think the Law Society allows us to claim that we are the best brother-sister-Guyanese-criminal-defence law firm in Toronto, but we are the only one 🇬🇾🏆
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My first Zoom appeal is in the books. It's different and there are some advantages if you're tech-literate.
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Very grateful to
@dtanovich
for allowing me to be a contributing author for McWilliams’ hearsay chapter
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This is why we need diversity in the legal profession and on the bench
Improper cross-examination & submissions by Crown invoking stereotypes about East Indian culture necessitates new trial even where defence did not object:
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R. v. McColman, 2021 ONCA 382 is going to the Supreme Court. Can the police pull you over for a sobriety check on private property?
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R. v. Bristol, 2021 ONCA 599 at para. 11: You can infer that lockdowns involve lack of showers, loss of physical activity, and restricting detainees to their cells for long periods of time.
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R. v. Tim, 2022 SCC 12 at para. 88: If you think possessing a pill isn't a crime and you're wrong, you're a criminal. But, here, if you're a junior cop and you think that possessing a pill is a crime and you're wrong, it's human error, plain and simple.
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This should cut both ways. If you commit a crime because of an incorrect view of the law, you go to jail. If the police arrest or search you because of an incorrect view of the law, the resulting evidence should be excluded from the trial.
Court confirms no defence of “reasonable mistake of law” (see para 57): R. v. Fan, 2021 ONCA 674
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R. v. Pike, 2024 ONCA 608: Section 99(1)(a) of the Customs Act, which authorizes border officers to search digital devices without any reasonable basis, is unconstitutional
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It was a pleasure to have Justice Thomas talk to
@LincAlexLawTMU
criminal procedure students about her remarkable journey and what she sees as effective advocacy
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I have been elected as an Executive of the
@ClaOntario
. I am now the Assistant Secretary. Thanks for your support!
I have been a:
🔴CLA member since 2011
🔴creator and co-manager of the
@ClaOntario
podcast, Canada's Court
🔴Toronto director
🔴Co-Chair of the membership committee
🔴member of the litigation committee
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R. v. Spicer, 2023 ONCA 232: The Court of Appeal overturns O'Bonsawin J. (now of the
@SCC_eng
, then of the
@SCJOntario_en
) for a number of errors, some fundamental.
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R. v. McColman, 2023 SCC 8: The Court fumbles the s. 24(2) analysis. The summary offence of 'over 80' is a "serious offence" warranting admission even though the other Grant factors favour exclusion. What crime isn't a serious offence now?
2023 SCC 8: in Ontario police do not have the statutory authority under Highway Traffic Act to conduct random vehicular sobriety stops on private property even if police formed intent to conduct the stop before target vehicle entered onto private property
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I'm happy to have been selected by my peers for inclusion in the 2024-25 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada for Criminal Defence
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For our last class of the year, it was a true honour to have former
@SCC_eng
jurist Michael Moldaver speak to our
@LincAlexLawTMU
criminal procedure students
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Samezies. Criminal Procedure. See you in September.
Very pleased to share that I've accepted a practitioner lecturer position at
@RyersonULaw
--I'll be co-teaching first-year criminal law this fall!
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I'm breaking my rule against tweeting my own cases to invite you to listen to me argue at the Supreme Court of Canada.
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Are you a criminal lawyer who lost a jury trial after September 19, 2019? Was your client denied peremptory challenges? If you answered yes, call an appeal lawyer.
R. v. Chouhan, 2020 ONCA 40: The changes to the jury selection process are constitutional. But the abolition of peremptory challenges only applies to cases where the jury trial right vested on or after September 19, 2019
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R. v. Cordeiro-Calouro, 2019 ONCA 1002: Justice Dale Parayeski conducted a trial that was "anything but fair to the appellant". So much so that the trial Crown should have stepped in to stop the abuse.
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R. v. Lafrance, 2022 SCC 32: In a 5-4 split, the
@SCC_eng
provides a purposive and generous understanding to s. 10(b) generally and Sinclair particularly.
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R. v. R.K., 2023 ONCA 653 at para 46. A concise statement on the law about a complainant's motive to lie
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R. v. Satkunananthan, 2022 ONCA 393: A police officer, qualified as an expert, was wrong to testify that the possession of drugs was for the purpose of trafficking.
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R. v. Dudhi, 2019 ONCA 665: Big case from the Court of Appeal on racial profiling. In short, racial profiling occurs under the constitution anytime race or racial stereotypes are used to any degree in suspect selection or treatment.
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R. v. Chambers, 2019 ONCA 736: New trial ordered because Justice Robert Fournier created a reasonable apprehension of bias by mocking, shaming, and criticizing the defence.
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R. v. Darnley, 2020 ONCA 179: A reasonable doubt:
❌Does not need to arise on proven facts (para 33)
❌Does not need to arise on the evidence (para 34)
❌Does not need to be a stronger conclusion than an inference of guilt (para 36)
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Today the Supreme Court overturned Justice Doherty, the Lebron James of criminal law, and Justice Watt, the Kobe Bryant of criminal law.
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R. v. Muddei, 2021 ONCA 200: The police cannot use a wiretap's results to justify its authorization. The police need reasonable grounds before applying for the wiretap, not after.
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R. v. Kazman, 2020 ONCA 251 at paras. 16-21: COVID-19 can favour release on bail, even if the applicant is not particularly at risk. Great work by
@catemartell
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The Eras Tour of criminal law is underway in my 2024
@LincAlexLawTMU
criminal procedure class.
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R. v. Vickerson, 2020 ONCA 434: New trial ordered because the self-rep defendant was in custody throughout the trial and wasn't able to access the Crown’s digital disclosure until after the trial's evidence, when some of it was entered as exhibits.
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R. v. Allison, 2022 ONCA 329 at para. 43: The 11(b) clock begins to run when an information is sworn, not the date of arrest.
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R. v. Keshavarz, 2022 ONCA 312: The Court allows the police to suspend the right to counsel because contacting a lawyer could inadvertently lead to safety issues or destroying evdience.
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Kicking off the semester
@LincAlexLawTMU
with
@Hussein__Aly
guest lecturing about search warrant challenges
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I needed to get a passport for my daughter. A thread on the ridiculousness that is getting a passport in Toronto 2022.
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R. v. Bykovets, 2024 SCC 6: There is a reasonable expectation of privacy in an IP address.
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R. v. Pascal, 2020 ONCA 287: A significant Crown witness' criminal record and outstanding charges are first party disclosure because they are obviously relevant. The local practice in Kenora was to not disclose. New trial ordered.
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R. v. Mare, 2023 ONCA 640 at para 3: Hourigan J.A. declines to consider a withdrawn charge in a bail pending appeal application: "it would be improper to have regard to what are unproven allegations that will not be determined in court"
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R. v. Sitladeen, 2021 ONCA 303: The Court splits on whether the police racially profiled a black man. Majority finds that the TJ incorrectly believed he needed to find that the officers were lying in this case to conclude racial profiling. 1/5
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R. v. Hillier, 2021 ONCA 180: Lost evidence case. Acquittals entered because the trial judge deferred to the police's assessment of whether evidence was relevant, among other things.
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R. v. Adler, 2020 ONCA 246: Multiple Charter violations result in acquittals for the man caught filming up the skirts of women at the CNE. A good case for Charter rights, a bad case for the victims.
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R. v. R.H., 2022 ONCA 6 at para. 23: It is fundamentally unfair to convict an accused person on a basis of which they are unaware and which they have not had an opportunity to respond.
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The Court of Appeal for Ontario is live streaming for the first time ever right now:
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There is a lot of misinformation going around about Ontario's social distancing laws. Here is an explainer.
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Four of the directors in
@OsgoodeNews
criminal intensive program are now judges in the GTA (Stribopoulos, Di Luca, Rondinelli, Burstein). They will write and rewrite criminal law for decades. Speaks to the strength of the program.
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R. v. Stone, 2020 ONCA 448: This guy wanted to get bail partly because his diabetes places him at increased risk of COVID-19. The Crown showed that he was buying Fudgee-Os in the bin. Bail denied.
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R. v. J.M., 2021 ONCA 150: The trial judge was wrong to drawn on his previous personal experience as counsel to assess the complainant's credibility.
Paras 28-38: A summary of judicial notice.
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Thanks to
@TrevinDavid
and
@SujLee_
for guest lecturing about s. 9 of the Charter this week
@LincAlexLawTMU
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Thank you
@ClaOntario
and
@addariolawgroup
for the gear. I feel like Sub Zero if he went to law school and took public health really seriously.
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Please consider voting for me for an Executive position on the
@ClaOntario
. Voting starts today. My platform is on the ballot.
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R. v. Hanan, 2023 SCC 12 at para. 9: There is no bright‑line rule according to which all of the delay until the next available date following defence counsel’s rejection of a date offered by the court must be characterized as defence delay.
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R. v. Scott, 2021 ONCA 625 at para. 44: There is no concept of an unreasonable acquittal unless the analysis is legally flawed. The Crown is not allowed to appeal an unreasonable acquittal in the way that the defence can appeal an unreasonable conviction.
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This month marks 10 years as a lawyer. It’s been a long journey to get here. I’m excited for the next 10.
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R. v. Sullivan, 2020 ONCA 333: This is the most significant doctrinal Court of Appeal case of 2020.
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R. v. Sullivan, 2022 SCC 19 at para. 75: A trial court must follow a binding prior decision of the same court in the province, unless:
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Very happy to see Justice Lori Anne Thomas appointed to the bench.
Attorney General Doug Downey announced the appointment of five new justices to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective October 22, 2020.
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Jails
The W.H.O. agrees the coronavirus is airborne indoors, and people should avoid crowded and confined spaces with poor ventilation.
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Happy to announce the launch of our refreshed law firm website! Check it out.
(If you see the old site, click refresh)
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Ashley and I wrote an article on overcoming obstacles in an appeal. R. v. Kruk, 2024 SCC 7 neutered some analysis, but good points remain. Check it out: (2024) 44(2) For the Defence 12
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I came across my list of firms I wanted to apply to for articling 15 years ago. Time is a river.
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R. v. Dosanjh, 2022 ONCA 689 at para 135: There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a *stolen* vehicle's GPS data and the contents of a friend’s contact list that was downloaded onto the vehicle
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R v Guillemette, 2022 ONCA 436 at para. 37: The Crown cannot suggest *in cross-examination* that the accused's silence prior to trial affects the sincerity of the accused's testimony.
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R. v. Chow, 2022 ONCA 555 at para. 36: Ownership of a residence is a relevant but not determinative consideration of a reasonable expectation of privacy under s. 8 of the Charter. I see two problems with this case.
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Michael Theriault's appeal is dismissed
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The
@ClaOntario
had Steve Urkel introduce Sherif Foda and
@MichelleJohal
at the Spring Conference today.
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Contempt citation dropped against Hamilton lawyer
Lawyers say Justice Michael Wendl never had authority to issue citation against Genevieve Eliany in first place
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R. v. Thompson, 2020 ONCA 264: Strong protection for civil liberties, specifically the right to not be arbitrarily detained and the right to counsel.
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R. v. Cowan, 2022 ONCA 432: The judge's relationship with the prosecutor before and during a murder trial created a reasonable apprehension of bias
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Mama we made it. They are shouting out Trevin David (
@TrevinDavid
) at
@ClaOntario
Fall Conference.
Our first panel on Racial Profiling...
#CLACPD
- Thanks Joshua, Neil and Emily for joining us.
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Technically, you don't have to tell the police where you're going if stopped under the lockdown law.
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R. v. Morgan, 2020 ONCA 279: The Court takes judicial notice of COVID-19, its impact on Canadians generally, and the current state of medical knowledge of the virus, including its mode of transmission and recommended methods to avoid its transmission.
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R. v. Tutu, 2021 ONCA 805: Acquittals on drug and gun charges because of events started by an arbitrary detention when the police came to a driver's window and blocked his car.
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R. v. Bissonnette: It is unconstitutional to stack life sentences.
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With over 25 years to potentially serve on the Supreme Court, Justice O'Bonsawin is one of the most powerful Canadians of our lifetime
Chief Justice Richard Wagner has sworn in Justice O’Bonsawin as the newest member of the Supreme Court of Canada.
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R. v. Brown, 2020 ONCA 196: 🚨 Toronto lawyers, save this case for sentencing submissions. The Court of Appeal recognizes the ongoing, serious conditions at the Toronto South Detention Centre, and that the conditions have not improved.
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Great to see everyone at the
@ClaOntario
conference yesterday. This is the only picture I have lol. Come by and say hi today.
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The Supreme Court is going to consider the starting point approach in sentencing: R v Felix, 2019 ABCA 458
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R. v. Jarrett, 2021 ONCA 758 at para. 43: The police must act as diligently as the detainee would have, within reason, when they assume the responsibility of contacting counsel for s. 10(b) of the Charter.
[1/7]
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R. v. Bharwani, 2023 ONCA 203: A 5-member panel of the Court formulates the test for fitness to stand trial.
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The Court reverses a wrongful conviction
Fantastic win by my colleague, and all around appellate superstar,
@McKeownLaw
in R. v. Janeiro, 2022 ONCA 118 - Court of Appeal allows appeal on all grounds, finds verdict unreasonable and allows lost evidence issue as well. Excellent job!!👏🏻👏🏻
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A nice full-circle moment lecturing at my former law school
@OsgoodeNews
, teaching Professor Tanguay-Renaud’s criminal procedure class s. 11(b) of the Charter
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Woods (Re), 2021 ONCA 190: The Ontario Review Board cannot force a videoconference hearing without the defendant's consent, according to the NCR regime's statutory scheme.
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R. v. McSweeney, 2020 ONCA 2: New trial ordered after the Durham Regional Police failed to hold off on questioning a detainee after that person asked to speak with a lawyer
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