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R V Parks
''R v Parks'', 9922 S.C.R. 871 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the criminal automatism defence. In the early morning of May 24, 1987, Kenneth Parks drove 20 kilometres from Pickering, Ontario, to the house of his in-laws in Scarborough, Ontario. He entered their house with a key they had previously given him and used a tire iron to bludgeon his mother-in-law to death. He then turned on his father-in-law, attempting unsuccessfully to choke him to death. Covered with blood, Parks got back in his car and drove straight to a nearby police station and confessed, turning himself in, stating "I think I have just killed two people." At trial, Parks argued that he was automatistic and not criminally liable. In his defence, a doctor testified as to his mental state at the time of the murder. From the doctor's evidence, it was determined that the accused was sleepwalking at the time of the incident, and that he was suffering from a disorder of sleep rather than neurological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Charter'' guarantees certain political rights to Canadian citizens and guarantees the civil rights of everyone in Canada. It is designed to unify Canadians around a set of principles that embody those rights. The ''Charter'' was proclaimed in force by Queen Elizabeth II of Canada on April 17, 1982, as part of the ''Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Charter'' was preceded by the '' Canadian Bill of Rights'', enacted in 1960, which was a federal statute rather than a constitutional document. The ''Bill of Rights'' exemplified an international trend towards formalizing human rights protections following the United Nations' ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights'', instigated by the country's movement for human rights and freedoms that emerged af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Criminal Code (Canada)
The ''Criminal Code'' () is a law of the Parliament of Canada that codifies most, but not all, criminal offences and criminal procedure in Canada. Its official long title is ''An Act respecting the Criminal Law'' (French: ). It is indexed in the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985 as chapter number C-46 and it is sometimes abbreviated as ''Cr.C.'' (French: ) in legal reports. Section 91(27) of the '' Constitution Act, 1867'' establishes that the Parliament of Canada has sole jurisdiction over criminal law. Accordingly, the Criminal Code applies to the entirety of the country, meaning that in Canada, all crimes which are defined under the Criminal Code are federal crimes and can be prosecuted anywhere they occur in or out of the country. The ''Criminal Code'' contains some defences, but most are part of the common law rather than statute. Important Canadian criminal laws not forming part of the Code include the '' Firearms Act'', the '' Controlled Drugs and Substances Act'', the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justices Of The Peace Act 1361
The Justices of the Peace Act 1361 ( 34 Edw. 3. c. 1) is an act of the Parliament of England. The act, although amended, remains enforceable in England and Wales . Background Maintaining the peace had long been a concern of society and part of the common law, but that aspect of the common law was enshrined into statute by the enactment of the Justices of the Peace Act 1361. The primary reason for the legislation was due to concerns about soldiers returning from the war in France, and the potential of them not reintegrating back into their communities as peaceful citizens. The act defined who was eligible to become a justice of the peace, their duties and their powers. It detailed that each county assigned a lord and three of four worthy people to become justices of the peace. The role of a justice of the peace was to deal with 'offenders, rioters, and all other barators'. It empowered them to apprehend, arrest, and punish them, in accordance with the 'law and customs of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supreme Court Of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts. The Supreme Court is bijural, hearing cases from two major legal traditions (common law and civil law) and bilingual, hearing cases in both official languages of Canada (English and French). The effects of any judicial decision on the common law, on the interpretation of statutes, or on any other application of law, can, in effect, be nullified by legislation, unless the particular decision of the court in question involves application of the Canadian Constitution, in which case, the decision (in most cases) is completely binding on the legislative branch. This is especially true of decisions which touch upon the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Automatism (law)
In criminal law, automatism is a rarely used criminal defence. It is one of the mental condition defences that relate to the mental state of the defendant. Automatism can be seen variously as lack of voluntariness, lack of culpability (unconsciousness) or excuse. Automatism means that the defendant was not aware of his or her actions when making the particular movements that constituted the illegal act. For example, in 1958, Esther Griggs threw her child out of a first floor window believing that the house was on fire, while having a sleep terror. In 2002, Peter Buck, lead guitarist of the band R.E.M., was cleared of several charges, including assault, which resulted from automatism brought on by a bad interaction between alcohol and sleeping pills. In a 2009 case in Aberporth in west Wales, Brian Thomas strangled his wife in their camper van, also during a sleep terror, when he mistook his wife for an intruder. The defence of automatism is denying that the person was actin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering (2021 Canadian census, 2021 population 99,186) is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region, Ontario, Durham Region. Beginning in the 1770s, the area was settled by primarily British colonists. An increase in population occurred after the American Revolutionary War, when the Crown resettled Loyalists and encouraged new immigration. Many of the smaller rural communities have been preserved and function as provincially significant historic sites and museums. The city also includes the Pickering Casino Resort, a multi-billion-dollar casino complex. History Early period The present-day Pickering was Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Aboriginal territory for thousands of years. The Wyandot people, Wyandot (called the Huron by Europeans), who spoke an Iroquoian language, were the historical people living here in the 15th century. Archeological remains of a large village have been found here, known as the Draper Site. Later, the Wyand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough (; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Census 629,941) is a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated in the eastern part of the City of Toronto. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue (Toronto), Steeles Avenue and the city of Markham, Ontario, Markham to the north, the Rouge River (Ontario), Rouge River and the city of Pickering, Ontario, Pickering to the east, and Lake Ontario and the Scarborough Bluffs to the south. Scarborough was named after the English town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, inspired by its cliffs. Scarborough, which was settled by Europeans in the 1790s, has grown from a collection of small rural villages and farms to become fully urbanized and diverse cultural community. Incorporated in 1850 as a township, the district became part of Metropolitan Toronto in 1953 and was reconstituted as a borough in 1967. The borough rapidly developed as a suburb of Toronto over the next decade and became a city in 1983. In 1998, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low consciousness, with performance of activities that are usually performed during a state of full consciousness. These activities can be as benign as talking, sitting up in bed, walking to a bathroom, consuming food, and cleaning, or as hazardous as cooking, driving a motor vehicle, violent gestures and grabbing at hallucinated objects.Swanson, Jenifer, ed. "Sleepwalking". ''Sleep Disorders Sourcebook''. MI: Omnigraphics, 1999. 249–254, 351–352. Although sleepwalking cases generally consist of simple, repeated behaviors, there are occasionally reports of people performing complex behaviors while asleep, although their legitimacy is often disputed. Sleepwalkers often have little or no memory of the incident, as their consciousness ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acquitted
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the United States, an acquittal prohibits the retrial of the accused for the same offense, even if new evidence surfaces that further implicates the accused. The effect of an acquittal on criminal proceedings is the same whether it results from a jury verdict or results from the operation of some other rule that discharges the accused. In other countries, like Australia, Canada and the UK, the prosecuting authority may appeal an acquittal similar to how a defendant may appeal a conviction — but usually only if new and compelling evidence comes to light or the accused has interfered with or intimidated a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insanity Defense
The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative Defense (legal), defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a mental illness, psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act. This is contrasted with an excuse of provocation (legal), provocation, in which the defendant is responsible, but the responsibility is lessened due to a temporary mental state.''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business; John Kaplan (law professor), John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder, , It is also contrasted with the Justification (jurisprudence), justification of Self-defense, self defense or with the mitigation of imperfect self-defense. The insanity defense is also contrasted with a finding that a defendant cannot stand trial in a criminal case because a mental disease prevents them from effectively assisting counsel, from a civil case, civil finding in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Lamer
Joseph Antonio Charles Lamer (July 8, 1933 – November 24, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer and jurist who served as the 16th Chief Justice of Canada from 1990 to 2000. Career Lamer practised in partnership at the firm of Cutler, Lamer, Bellemare and Associates and was a full professor in the Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, where he was also a lecturer in criminology. On December 19, 1969, at the age of 36, he was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court and to the Queen's Bench (Crown Side) of the province of Quebec. In 1978, he was elevated to the Quebec Court of Appeal and was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1980. Brian Mulroney named Lamer as Chief Justice on July 1, 1990. On January 7, 2000, Lamer took an unexpected early retirement after having served as chief justice for ten years. Several years after his death, former judges spoke about the situation surrounding his retirement. According to a 2011 article in ''The Globe and Mail'', in February 1999, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homicidal Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low consciousness, with performance of activities that are usually performed during a state of full consciousness. These activities can be as benign as talking, sitting up in bed, walking to a bathroom, consuming food, and cleaning, or as hazardous as cooking, driving a motor vehicle, violent gestures and grabbing at hallucinated objects.Swanson, Jenifer, ed. "Sleepwalking". ''Sleep Disorders Sourcebook''. MI: Omnigraphics, 1999. 249–254, 351–352. Although sleepwalking cases generally consist of simple, repeated behaviors, there are occasionally reports of people performing complex behaviors while asleep, although their legitimacy is often disputed. Sleepwalkers often have little or no memory of the incident, as their consciousness h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
