A remediation agreement sanctioned by Quebec Superior Court, the second in Canada, sheds new guidance and fleshes out principles applicable to the unique regime but also raises concerns over the opaqueness of the process and the relatively hands-off approach by the court.
Impact of lengthy imprisonment on offender family’s is a mitigating factor, deems the Quebec Appeal Court
In the specific circumstances of this case, the Court is inclined to actually take the file and throw it out the window.
A 46-year old Montrealer accused of sexually assaulting a friend was found not criminally responsible for his actions after Court of Quebec Judge André Perreault found that he suffered from the rare disorder of sexsomnia.
A 21-year old school janitor who sexually assaulted a 13-year old child had his sentence increased to 15 months imprisonment from 90 days by a divided Quebec Court of Appeal after the majority held that the trial judge failed to prioritize denunciation and deterrence as overriding factors.
A man convicted of sexually assaulting a four-year-old child was acquitted by the Quebec Court of Appeal after it held that a confession he made during therapy should have been protected by professional secrecy.
A new trial for a man convicted of sexual interference on a child was ordered by the Quebec Court of Appeal after it held that the trial judge’s refusal to allow the re-opening of the complainant’s cross-examination infringed his right to make full answer and defence.
Legal experts hope that guidance provided by Quebec Superior Court in Canada’s first ever remediation agreement will prompt federal prosecutors and organizations to take advantage of the new way of settling criminal charges.
A public inquiry should be held to examine Quebec’s forensic laboratory following the decision by Quebec Superior Court to grant a stay in legal proceedings against former Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Jacques Delisle, according to a founding director of Innocence Canada, a non-profit organization that resolves wrongful-conviction cases.
The Quebec legal community, aghast and dismayed over a criminal trial that took place in complete secrecy, with no paper trail, is calling for a probe and demanding accountability to deter the “judicial charade” from taking place again.
The Quebec government is forging ahead with the deployment of sexual and domestic violence court pilot projects in spite of forceful opposition by the Chief Justice of the Court of Quebec.
