Scott Wright Barrister & Solicitor

04/20/2023

Was very interesting to be interviewed for this documentary which addresses the Nuttall case. Click the link to get tickets to the premiere on May 5th.

After the arrest and imprisonment of a young Surrey couple, their plot to commit acts of terrorism was revealed to be the work of government agent provocateurs aiming to entrap and create their own "threats."

02/10/2023

Latest blog post - A primer on the basics of the right to counsel in Canada.

Immediately upon arrest or detention, police must undertake specific informational and implementational duties intended to facilitate the fulfillment of the s. 10(b) Charter right to counsel.

12/24/2022

Case summaries are back.

After a brief hiatus we are back with case summaries. In this post we take a look at a recent Ontario Court of Appeal ( R. v. D.D., 2022 ONCA 786 ) decision which addresses the principles applicable to an assessment of the evidence of an adult witness testifying to events which allegedly occurred wh

08/29/2022

After a brief summer hiatus we are back. Our latest case summary looks at situations where an accused might need to call evidence to corroborate what they have said or face the consequences.

Our latest Canlii Connects case summary considers a case from the Manitoba Court of Appeal (R. v. McLean, 2022 MBCA 60) where an accused was faulted for not calling evidence to corroborate his version of events. The case provides a nice example of when an accused can have their failure to call evide

07/29/2022

If there's a better way to beat the heat than reading our latest Canlii Connects case summary which reviews where a new trial was required because the trial judge went too far in applying Judicial Notice to make factual findings without evidence I can't think of it.

Our latest Canlii Connects case summary considers a case from the Alberta Court of Appeal where a new trial was required because the trial judge went too far in applying Judicial Notice to make factual findings without evidence.

07/06/2022

If you've ever wondered what judges will consider in deciding who to believe at trial then this is the blog post for you.

At trials Judges are often required to decide which witnesses they believe. In other words, they must assess the credibility of each witness who testifies. This can be particularly challenging of course. Judges don’t have any sort of superpower to determine who is being truthful. What they do have...

06/08/2022

Our latest Canlii Connects case summary reviews a decision from Saskatchewan which considered grounds for arrest for ma*****na trafficking at a Motor Vehicle stop. The landscape has changed with the legalization of small amounts of ma*****na and this case provides an example.

05/06/2022

Another brief case summary where the BC Supreme Court found that Investigating police officers are not able to provide Victim Impact statements. Pender Litigation

Our latest Canlii Connects case summary takes a quick look at a recent BC Supreme Court case which considered the scope of who can be considered a victim of an offence for the purpose of providing a victim impact statement.

04/27/2022

We all have opinions but only those with qualifications can give them in court. The latest case summary looks at a situation where that rule was not followed and what happened as a result.

The latest Canlii Connects case summary takes a look at R. v. Sutherland, 2022 MBCA 23 and touches on issues of the scope of expert evidence and and what an appeal court can do if they find there was an error at trial but determine it didn't impact the outcome.

04/05/2022

After reviewing how bail conditions are imposed, in this post we turn to how they can be changed.

Commonly, people will want to have their conditions changed. There are a number of ways an application to vary bail conditions can be made depending on the particular circumstances of the case.

03/22/2022

Trials with multiple accused can be challenging. Our latest case summary covers a case which discusses how a jury should be told to consider the evidence of one accused who points the finger at the others

Our latest Canlii Connects case summary looks at a recent decision from the Alberta Court of Appeal where a trial judge erred in their instructions to the jury on how they were to assess the evidence of one accused who pointed the finger at his co-accused.

03/07/2022

Bail in Canada is very different from the United States and what we see on TV. Most people will be released without having to post any money or being subject to conditions. Today's post takes a look at how conditions are imposed when they are deemed to be necessary.

Most people who face criminal charges won’t be subject to bail conditions. It is generally presumed that release will occur at the earliest opportunity and on the least onerous grounds.  Release is governed by section 515 of the  Criminal Code  which codifies t