Vocab and Terms
Homicide
A person commits homicide when directly or indirectly, by any means, he or she causes the death of a human being
Who is the only person that police have the right to fingerprint and photograph?
Someone who has been arrested for or charged with an indictable offence
What are the 2 boundaries police must establish at a crime scene?
Centre and perimeter
True or False: Hybrid offences are always treated as summary offences until the Crown formally elects.
False - they are always treated as indictable
While driving over the speed limit and under the influence of alcohol, Mr. Beast loses control of the vehicle and kills a pedestrian. What type of homicide is this?
Manslaughter
Party to common intention
The shared responsibility among criminals for any additional offences that are committed in the course of the crime they originally intended to commit
Describe the difference between arrest and detention
Arrest = legally depriving someone of liberty by seizing or touching them to indicate that they are in custody, involving physical restraint
Detention: Legally depriving a person of liberty for the purpose of asking questions, with or without physical restraint
What is the role of the criminal identification officer?
Responsible for searching the crime scene, examining the scene for physical evidence, gathering and analyzing evidence, and sending certain types of evidence to a lab for analysis
In motor vehicle offences, what does it mean when someone is "over 80"?
Section 253(b) of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to drive or to have “care or control” of a motor vehicle while the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream exceeds 80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood
Drake reports a break-and-enter at his home in downtown Toronto. Which level of police is coming to assist him?
Municipal
Why are "summary" conviction offences called that?
It is because they are treated in a “summary fashion” meaning it is dealt with it quickly and simply, so these cases usually proceed through the court system fairly rapidly
What is an arrest warrant and in what circumstances would the police obtain one?
An arrest warrant is a written court order that directs the arrest of a suspect. Police usually obtain this when they think the accused of an indictable offence will not appear in court willingly.
What are the 3 reasons why police need to preserve a crime scene?
1) To allow for a thorough search of the scene
2) To seize and collect physical evidence
3) To ensure that the physical evidence seized is admissible in court
What are the 3 circumstances that must be present for a crime to be considered infanticide?
1) accused must be the natural mother of the victim
2) the victim must be less than 12 months old
3) at the time of the killing, the accused must have been suffering from a mental disturbance caused by not being able to recover from giving birth to the victim
Sabrina Carpenter shoplifts $4,000 worth of electronics from a retail store and is caught on security cameras. It is her fourth time getting caught for theft of this magnitude. Would this be a summary, indictable, or hybrid offence?
Hybrid - probably tried as indictable
Bench warrant
An arrest warrant issued directly by the Judge when an accused person fails to appear in court
What are the 4 stages of interrogation that police generally use (must be in order)?
Asking the suspect to describe:
1) the entire incident
2) the period before the offence took place
3) the details of the actual offence
4) the period following the offence
What is the chain of custody and what 4 pieces of information must it show?
The chain of custody is the witnessed, written record of all of the people who had control over the items of evidence. It must show:
1) who had contact with the evidence
2) the dates and times the evidence was handled
3) the circumstances under which the evidence was handled
4) what changes, if any, were made to the evidence
Provide the level of offence AND the maximum sentence for the following:
1) Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
2) Dangerous operation causing bodily harm
3) Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death
1) Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle - hybrid, max 10 years
2) Dangerous operation causing bodily harm - indictable, max 14 years
3) Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death - indictable, max life in prison
Vincent and Chayse text each other about breaking into the school overnight to steal all of the midterm exam answer keys. They agree on a time and entry point, but when they show up to the school, Mr. Walters is waiting for them in the parking lot with the police. What crime would they be charged with?
Attempt - took an action towards committing the crime by driving and showing up to the school
Habeas Corpus
If someone has been denied bail, they can file a writ of habeas corpus to appeal the bail refusal to a higher court. This requires the Crown to produce the detained person in court and give reasons to justify keeping them in custody until trial
Describe the 5 circumstances that may justify a reverse onus.
1) the charge is murder
2) the accused is charged with an indictable offence while already out on bail
3) the offence is indictable and the accused is not a Canadian resident
4) the charge involves failure to appear or breach of a bail condition
5) the accused is charged with importing, trafficking, or possession of narcotics (or conspiracy to commit any of those)
Name 5 pieces of information that must be on the exterior of an "evidence package"
Any 5 of the following:
- brief description of the item
- police case number
- date when the evidence was collected
- location of collection
- brand name of the item, if any
- serial number or clothing information
- name and badge number of the officer who collected the evidene
- destination of the item for analysis or storage
Describe the court procedures for an indictable offence.
The method for trying an indictable offence differs according to the severity of the sentence that the offence carries
The most serious indictable offences, such as murder and treason must be tried in Superior Court
For an offence with a maximum penalty of LESS than 5 years of imprisonment, the trial will be heard in provincial court or the superior court of the province before a judge without a jury
If the maximum penalty is MORE than 5 years, the accused can opt for trial in Superior Court, either with a judge alone or with a judge and jury
In the case of R v Stone and Dobinson (1977), Ted and Gwen were living with Ted's adult sister, who was frail and has trouble caring for herself. Over several weeks, they failed to provide food, water, or medical help even though they knew she was very ill and struggling. She eventually died. What type of crime could they be charged with?
Crime of omission