Famous criminal cases 2017

As the year draws to a close, it’s time to look back at some of the most significant cases of 2017. Here, five excellent criminal law practitioners provide their takes on the most important cases of the past year. They cover bail, search and seizure, mental health and youth sentencing, and will all have an impact on how we practice criminal law. Read on!

R. v. Antic2017 SCC 27by Annamaria Enenajor

One of this year’s most notable Supreme Court criminal law decision was R. v. Antic-a decision which says precisely nothing new. This is not to say that Antic was neither significant nor necessary. Often times in the application of legal principles, our courts stray so far from where they ought to be that appellate courts have no choice but to re-visit and re-commit to fundamental principles that our justice system appears to have trouble fully integrating into daily operations.

Even before Antic, there was no dispute that the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause was an essential element of our enlightened criminal justice system. This principle is reflected not only in constitutional case law, but also in the language of the bail provisions of the Criminal Code. And yet, over the years, we have witnessed our bail system reach crisis status, with groups such as the John Howard Society, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association regularly sounding the alarm. Over-reliance on pre-trial detention, onerous terms of release and the over-prosecution of breach offences have led to a justice system where more than half of Canadian adults in jail are awaiting trial rather than serving a sentence. And so, with Antic, the Supreme Court took us back to the basics – presumption of innocence and all.

In Antic, the Court spoke directly to bail courts. It clarified that the default position for an accused person is his or her unconditional release. If conditions are required, they should be the least restrictive condi

The year 2017 was an explosive one on the crime-news front. But for the families of some long-ago crime victims, the past 12 months were especially memorable since their loved ones’ cases—some unsolved for decades—took dramatic new steps toward being solved. Resolving long-cold cases isn’t a common occurrence, but it is happening more often thanks to advances in DNA testing, evidence collection and technology.

“There’s a solvability factor when looking at cold cases,” says Ryan Backmann, founder of the Florida-based organization Project: Cold Case. “More crimes are now being solved because of DNA testing, social media and the [24-hour news] media. In the ’70s, if the victim’s blood was mixed with the suspect’s blood, they couldn’t separate it.”

Here are five of the year’s biggest cold cases that saw positive progress in 2017.

Suzanne Bombardier
In 1980, 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier was kidnapped while babysitting her nieces in Antioch, California. Her body was found in the San Joaquin River five days later; she’d been raped and stabbed in the heart. Police had very few leads, and the case was the Bay Area city’s oldest cold case on record. That is, until a DNA match led police to arrest 63-year-old Mitchell Lynn Bacom for the murder. Bacom was reportedly a family acquaintance of the Bombardiers.

While the suspect—who has a “long and violent” criminal history, including convictions for rape, robbery and burglary—has not yet been tried, it’s an encouraging development.

Making strides in very old cold cases like Bombardier’s is d

Not to be confused with Muhammad Shahzeb Khan.

2012 murder in Karachi, Pakistan

For the American Counter-Strike player, see ShahZaM.

On 25 December 2012, university student Shahzeb Khan was murdered in a targeted revenge killing in Karachi, Pakistan. The initial lack of action from police in apprehending Shahzeb Khan's killers sparked countrywide outrage and protests against the abuse of power by the wealthy in Pakistan. On 7 June 2013 Shahrukh Jatoi, son of feudal Sikandar Jatoi and Siraj Talpur, from the Talpur clan, were sentenced to death for this crime, while Sajjad Solangi and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari were sentenced to life imprisonment for aiding the two killers. However, in September 2013 Shahzeb's parents, DSP Aurangzeb Khan and Ambreen Aurangzeb, decided to file an affidavit with the court pardoning all four accused and requesting their release, the Sindh High Court released the culprits on 23 December 2017. On 1 February 2018 the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered both the case to be reopened before the SHC and the accused persons to be retaken into custody.

Details

During the night of 24 December 2012, Shahzeb Khan's sister was on her way back home from their sister's Walima reception. She was being harassed by Ghulam Murtaza Lashari, which resulted in a fight between Shahzeb on one side and the Talpurs, accompanied by their friend Shahrukh Jatoi on the other side. After the fight had ended Shahrukh and Siraj eventually traced Shahzeb again and gunned him down.

Initially no arrests were made, which caused a significant social media movement demanding justice for Shahzeb Khan. On 7 January 2013 Siraj Talpur, Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari were arrested in connection with the murder. Shahrukh Jatoi had fled to Dubai in the meantime, but was later arrested as well. Eyewitnesses then identified the suspects. After several changes of prosecution personnel, the