Top Five 2003: R v Sheppard

Each year at OJEN’s Toronto Summer Law Institute, a judge from the Court of Appeal for Ontario identifies five cases that are of significance in the educational setting. This summary, based on these comments and observations, is appropriate for discussion and debate in the classroom setting.

R v Sheppard, 2002 SCC 26, [2002] 1 SCR 869

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) unanimously dismissed an appeal, agreeing with the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland that a trial judge must provide reasons for her or his decision in order to permit an appeal judge to review the correctness of that decision.  The SCC said, “the giving of reasoned judgments is central to the legitimacy of judicial institutions in the eyes of the public” [para. 5].The full decision is available here.