Canadian Criminal Law (NCA / JD)

Study content for Canadian Criminal Law (NCA / JD): notes, practice MCQs and flashcards across 7 syllabus topics. This is AI-generated draft content — citations have not yet been independently verified.

Syllabus

• A — General Overview & Preliminary MattersTopic

  Sources of Criminal Law (CC s.9, Frey v. Fedoruk) · Constitutional Division of Powers (s.91(27), s.92(14) Constitution Act 1867) · Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — impact on criminal law & procedure (ss.1, 7, 11, 24, 33, 52)

• B — Elements of an OffenceTopic

  Actus Reus — acts, conditions, voluntariness / automatism foundation · Possession as actus reus (CC s.4(3), CDSA s.2; manual, constructive, electronic) · Consent as actus reus element (CC s.265(3); R v Jobidon, R v JA, R v Mabior)

• C — Extensions of Criminal LiabilityTopic

  Aiding & Abetting (CC s.21; Dunlop, Logan, Briscoe, Gauthier, Cowan) · Counselling (CC ss.22, 464; R v Hamilton) · Attempts (CC s.24; Ancio, Deutsch, Dery)

• D — Select Criminal DefencesTopic

  Mental Disorder — s.16 CC; disease of mind; appreciates nature/quality; knowing wrong (Cooper, Kjeldson, Oommen) · Automatism — mental disorder vs non-mental disorder; voluntariness (Parks, Stone, Luedecke) · Simple Intoxication — specific vs general intent (George, Tatton, Robinson)

• E — The Adversarial ProceedingTopic

  Presumption of Innocence & Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Charter s.11(d); Lifchus, Starr) · Evidential & legal burdens; presumptions & reverse onus (Oakes, Cinous, Arcuri) · Role of Prosecutor (quasi-judicial; Krieger, Nixon, Babos, Anderson)

• F — Investigation & Pre-TrialTopic

  Police Powers — search & seizure (Charter s.8); detention (Charter s.9); exclusion of evidence s.24(2) (Grant, Le, Stairs, Marakah, Bykovets 2024) · Arrest & Bail / Interim Release (Charter s.10; right to counsel; Lafrance, St-Cloud, Antic) · Disclosure & Production (Stinchcombe; O'Connor; CC ss.278.1-278.98; JJ 2022)

• G — SentencingTopic

  General Principles (CC ss.718-719; Gladue; mandatory minimums; Hills 2023, Hilbach 2023) · Indigenous sentencing considerations (Gladue, Morris 2021)

• R v Frey v Fedoruk

  CC s.9: What sources of law define Canadian criminal offences?

  [1950] SCR 517
• R v Oakes

  Oakes Test: What three-stage proportionality analysis applies to s.1 Charter justification?

  [1986] 1 SCR 103
• R v Therens

  Actus reus: Can a person be criminally liable for involuntary conduct?

  [1985] 1 SCR 613