The Full Court Press

A simple rule in many respects but often misunderstood and overlooked. The automatic excision rule requires courts to remove any information obtained through a Charter breach from an Information to Obtain (ITO) before assessing whether there were reasonable and probable grounds for a search or arrest. If the remaining information can't support the state action on its own, the warrant or arrest is...

Ontario courts have long recognized the importance of s. 726, but they have also clarified that a lapse in offering allocution does not automatically void the sentencing outcome. In R. v. Bynoe, 2025 ONCA 274 , for example, the Ontario Court of Appeal dealt with a sentencing judge’s failure to invite the offender to speak. The transcript showed the offender was not offered any opportunity to addre...

In this episode of The Full Court Press , ChatGPT discusses the recent Ontario Court of Appeal case R. v. Copeland (2025 ONCA 278), focusing on the partial defence of provocation. We outlined the key facts: Copeland was convicted of second-degree murder after claiming self-defence during a fatal confrontation with his girlfriend. He attempted, late in the trial, to also argue provocation based on...

🎙️This time on the Full Court Press we listen to an AI generated convo created by Google's "Notebook LM." It's not a dynamic, real-time interaction with an AI model but, rather, a (very realistic-sounding) "fake" conversation between two speakers generated after uploading the case into Notebook LM's large language model. I say "fake" conversation but then again: How do we define "fake". If it soun...

Case Overview: R. v. Attard, 2024 ONCA 616 Court: Ontario Court of Appeal Date: August 16, 2024 Panel: Gillese, van Rensburg, and Roberts JJ.A. Facts: Wendel Attard was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm after a serious crash in Brampton, Ontario. At trial, the Crown sought to admit data from the vehicle's Event Data Recorder (EDR) , which logged details such a...

The case is R. v. Pike, 2024 ONCA 608 , decided by the Ontario Court of Appeal on August 9th, 2024 . The core issue was whether section 99(1)(a) of the Customs Act —which lets border officers search digital devices without any objective grounds—violates section 8 of the Charter , which protects against unreasonable search and seizure. The Court held that the law is unconstitutional . They said sea...

Fabrication and Guilt: R. v. Ahmadi, 2025 ONCA 219 🏀 The Full Court Press – Quick Hit In this episode, Nate breaks down R. v. Ahmadi , a 2025 decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal, focusing on a key evidentiary issue: when an accused’s out-of-court statements can be used against them. The Court draws a sharp line between disbelieving a statement and finding it was fabricated . Only fabricated...

In this episode, defense lawyer Nate Jackson and ChatGPT break down two fresh decisions from the Ontario Court of Appeal: R. v. James (2025 ONCA 213) — A case about serious drug charges, police misconduct, and Charter breaches. The court excludes key evidence due to a reckless search and right-to-counsel violation, resulting in two acquittals. A clear message: rights matter, even in high-stakes dr...

Title: Presumed Innocent: The Supreme Court’s Ruling on Prison Discipline Length: ~5 minutes In this episode, Nate and ChatGPT break down the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision in John Howard Society of Saskatchewan v. Saskatchewan (2025 SCC 6). The Court ruled that serious prison disciplinary proceedings—those that can result in segregation or loss of earned remission—must meet the crimi...