Presenting TheCourt.ca‘s Third Annual Golden Gavel Awards

And the Nominees Are…

After a four-year hiatus, we at TheCourt.ca thought it time we revive our public announcement of our list of nominees for the prestigious Golden Gavels, formerly known as the OZZY.

Unfortunately, TheCourt.ca’s editors have not yet secured the funds to rent out the Dolby Theatre for the annual Golden Gavel awards ceremony. But, we remain grateful for this space on the interwebs to share what we view as the most important developments in Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence of the past year.

The Golden Gavels are awarded in the following categories:

• Criminal Judgment of the Year
• Constitutional Judgment of the Year
• Civil Judgment of the Year
• Concurrence of the Year
• Dissent of the Year
• Most Disappointing Refusal of Leave
• Most Exciting Grant of Leave
• Justice of the Year
• Judgment of the Year

So, without further ado, below is the list of nominees for the third annual Golden Gavel awards, as selected by members of our editorial team, in consultation with Eugene Meehan, QC of Supreme Advocacy LLP.

Criminal Judgment of the Year

• R v Hart, 2014 SCC 52, on the admissibility of confessions elicited during “Mr. Big” operations, a relatively common sting tactic used by police across the country. Stuart Woods discussed this case here.
• Canada (Attorney General) v Whaling, 2014 SCC 20, on the Charter right of prisoners not to be punished twice for the same offence. Judy Hemming discussed this case here.
• R v Hutchinson, 2014 SCC 19, on the law surrounding consent to sexual activity, specifically relating to the sabotage of condoms. Meredith Bacal discussed this case in detail here and here. Ryan Heighton covered the SCC’s decision here.
• R v Conception, 2014 SCC 60, on whether courts may direct that treatment begins immediately even though the hospital or treating physician does not consent to that disposition. John Wilson commented on this case here.
• R v Fearon, 2014 SCC 77, on warrantless searches of an arrestee’s cell phone or other digital device. Stephen Neil’s comments on the OCA decision may be found here. John Wilson commented on the SCC decision here.

Constitutional Judgment of the Year

• Reference re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6, 2014 SCC 21, on whether Justice Marc Nadon of the Federal Court of Appeal, a lawyer with 10 years standing at the Barreau du Québec, can be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court’s previous discussions of this reference can be found here and here.
• Reference re Senate Reform, 2014 SCC 32, on how Parliament may proceed to institute reforms to the senate.
• Tsilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia, 2014 SCC 44, on recognizing Aboriginal title. Andrew Cyr discussed this case here when it was appealed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
• R v Hutchinson, 2014 SCC 19, on the law surrounding consent to sexual activity, specifically relating to the sabotage of condoms. Meredith Bacal discussed this case in detail here and here. Ryan Heighton covered the SCC’s decision here.
• R v Fearon, 2014 SCC 77, on warrantless searches of an arrestee’s cell phone or other digital device. John Wilson commented on the SCC decision here and Stephen Neil’s comments on the OCA decision may be found here.

Civil Judgment of the Year

• Canada (Attorney General) v Confédération des syndicats nationaux, 2014 SCC 49, on the principle of stare decisis. Mary Thibodeau discussed this case here.

• Hryniak v Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7, on the summary judgment rule in Ontario. This case was discussed by Peter Spiro here.

• Vivendi Canada Inc v Dell’Aniello, 2014 SCC 1, on the scope of the commonality requirement in class action authorization. Patrick Kwak discussed this case here.

• AI Enterprises Ltd v Bram Enterprises Ltd, 2014 SCC 12, on defining contours of the economic tort of unlawful interference.

• Thibodeau v Air Canada, 2014 SCC 67, on the interaction between the Montreal Convention and the Official Languages Act. Mary Thibodeau discussed this case here.

Concurrence of the Year

• Chief Justice McLachlin in Imperial Oil v Jacques, 2014 SCC 66. Maciej Lipinski commented on this case here.
• Justice Karakatsanis in R v Conception, 2014 SCC 60, on whether courts may direct that treatment begins immediately even though the hospital or treating physician does not consent to that disposition. John Wilson commented on this case here.
• Justice Cromwell in R v Hart, 2014 SCC 52, on the admissibility of confessions elicited during “Mr. Big” operations, a relatively common sting tactic used by police across the country. Stuart Woods discussed this case here.
• Justices Moldaver and Wagner in R v MacDonald, 2014 SCC 3. Paul Burd covered this case here.
• Justice Cromwell in Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 59. Professor Bruce Ryder discussed this case here.

Dissent of the Year

• Justice Moldaver in Reference re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6, 2014 SCC 21.
• Justice Karakatsanis in R v Fearon, 2014 SCC 77.
• Justice Abella in Thibodeau v Air Canada, 2014 SCC 67, on the interaction between the Montreal Convention and the Official Languages Act. Mary Thibodeau discussed this case here.
• Justice Rothstein in Bernard v Canada (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 13.
• Justice Abella in Kazemi Estate v Islamic Republic of Iran, 2014 SCC 62.

Most Disappointing Refusal of Leave

• Elliot C Wightman, et al v Estate of Peter N Widdrington, SCC File No 35438, on whether the law applicable to auditors’ liability is the law of the province of incorporation or law of province where fault occurred.

• Hungerford Tomyn Lawrenson and Nichols v Kirsten Mide-Wilson, SCC File No 35750, on the fair and reasonable parameters of contingency fees.

• One West Holdings Ltd v Greata Ranch Holdings Corp, et al, SCC File No 35844, on whether an entire agreement clause which referred to multiple contracts could be used to incorporate an arbitration clause from one of the other contracts.

Full disclosure: Eugene Meehan, QC & Marie-France Major were SCC Agents in both Wightman & Hungerford.

Most Exciting Grant of Leave

• Harry Daniels, et al v Her Majesty the Queen as represented by The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, et al, SCC File No 35945, on whether Métis and non-status Indians fall within the scope of federal powers under section 91(24) of the Constitution Act 1867.

• Lee Carter, et al v Attorney General of Canada, et al, SCC File No 35591, on whether physician assisted suicide is permissible in Canada.

• Lee Michael Wilson v Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, et al, SCC File No 35959 & Richard James Goodwin et al v Superintendent of Motor Vehicles et al, on provincial traffic stops and roadside prohibitions.

• Sanofi-Aventis, et al v Apotex Inc, et al, SCC File No 35886, on damages arising from patent infringement.

Justice of the Year

• Justice McLachlin, for her role in unifying the judges of the SCC and for writing the landmark judgement recognizing Aboriginal title in Canada in Tsilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia, 2014 SCC 44.
• Justice Abella, for continuing to maintain her strong role on the SCC as the voice of well-reasoned dissent.
• Justice Moldaver, for his consistency and rigorous decisions, and especially for his principled dissent in Reference re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6, 2014 SCC 21.
• Justice Karakatsanis, for having her most prolific year on the SCC and for writing the majority decision in what has become the most cited case of 2014 – Hryniak v Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7.
• Justice Nadon, the SCC Judge who never could be.

Judgment of the Year

• Tsilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia, 2014 SCC 44, on recognizing Aboriginal title. Andrew Cyr discussed this case here when it was appealed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal. John Wilson covered the SCC’s decision here.

• R v Hutchinson, 2014 SCC 19, on the law surrounding consent to sexual activity, specifically relating to the sabotage of condoms. Meredith Bacal discussed this case in detail here and here. Ryan Heighton covered the SCC’s decision here.

• Hryniak v Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7, on the summary judgment rule in Ontario. This case was discussed by Peter Spiro here.

• Reference re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6, 2014 SCC 21, on whether Justice Marc Nadon of the Federal Court of Appeal, a lawyer with 10 years standing at the Barreau du Québec, can be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court’s previous discussions of this reference can be found here and here.

• R v Fearon, 2014 SCC 77, on warrantless searches of an arrestee’s cell phone or other digital device. John Wilson commented on the SCC decision here and Stephen Neil’s comments on the OCA decision may be found here.

And the Golden Gavel Goes to…

The winners of the third annual Golden Gavel awards will be announced on theCourt.ca at 8:00 pm EST on February 27, 2015.

The editorial team welcomes any and all feedback on which cases deserve to win or lose a Golden Gavel, and which should or should not have earned a nomination this year. Your comments may even help swing our votes in one direction or another, so please do not hesitate to comment and ensure your voice is heard in this exciting race!