On November 20, 2019, Nader Hasan and Stephen Aylward appeared before the Ontario Court of Appeal to argue a constitutional challenge to provisions of the Criminal Code that restrict the ability of sentencing judges to grant conditional sentences, a restorative justice tool designed to balance rehabilitation with deterrence and reduce overincarceration. In the case, R. v. Sharma, our client argues that the restrictions are arbitrary, overly broad, and discriminatory in that they will worsen the crisis of Indigenous overincarceration in Canada. Our client was supported by the interveners, Aboriginal Legal Services Toronto, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, the Asper Centre, the Legal Education and Action Fund, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, and the HIV & AIDS Legal Aid Clinic Ontario. The Court of Appeal reserved its decision. A decision can be expected in mid-2020.
