Publicatons
Academic publications — Peer-reviewed
“Reviving a Unified Test for s. 24 Exclusion” (2024), Supreme Court Law Review
In R v Beaver, the Supreme Court restricted access to exclusion of evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter through the “fresh start” doctrine. This paper explores an alternate path to exclusion through s. 24(1). Reviewing the history and purpose of this provision, this paper argues that in cases where a defendant is prohibited from excluding evidence under the usual route of s. 24(2), they can still pursue exclusion as a remedy under s. 24(1).
“Confronting the experience of imprisonment in sentencing” (2021), Canadian Bar Review
A paper on the central importance of going beyond months and years in calculating a prison sentence. Judges can and should reduce sentences to account for harsh conditions of imprisonment. Cited with approval in R v Warren and R v Burrill.
ACademic publications — other
“Proportionality as constraint on indigenous detention” (2023), Criminal Law Quarterly
The enactment of s. 493.2 of the Criminal Code calls for a new approach to the law of bail for Indigenous persons, embracing proportionality as a key limitation on detention—even where the defendant’s release poses some risk on the primary or secondary grounds.
“The Troubling Conjunction in R v Fabbro” (2022), Criminal Law Quarterly
This short case comment catalogues the relevance of mental illness in sentencing as both a mitigating factor and collateral consequence.
“Implicit Bias and Racial Profiling” (2020), Criminal Law Quarterly
To establish racial profiling, applicants must show both (1) that the officer possessed racist attitudes and (2) that those attitudes caused the officer to act differently towards the defendant. This paper critiques the first requirement, drawing on social science research to show that everyone
trade publications
“Proportionality as Constraint on Indigenous Pre-trial Detention” [condensed] (2024): For the Defence Magazine
Lead counsel Chris Rudnicki and associate counsel Krisna Saravanamuttu argue for a two-step approach to s. 493.2.
“The Feminist Potential of R v Marfo” (2022): For the Defence Magazine
Lead counsel Chris Rudnicki and associate counsel Theresa Donkor argue that systemic discrimination in the conditions of women’s imprisonment must be considered in the balance of sentencing.
“Raising Systemic Anti-Black Discrimination in Sentencing” (2017): For the Defence Magazine
Lead counsel Chris Rudnicki proposes a legal framework for considering systemic anti-Black racism in sentencing.