Not On Record Podcast

**Sponsored by EasyDNS** Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: **notonrecord** In Episode 220 of Not On Record, criminal defence lawyers Michael Bury and Nick discuss Canada’s new Bail and Sentencing Reform Act (Bill C-14), a sweeping piece of legislation introducing more than 80 changes to Canada’s bail and sentencing laws. The discussion examines the government’s stated goal of addressing public concerns over repeat offenders, violent crime, auto theft, home invasions, human trafficking, and organized criminal activity. Michael and Nick break down the most significant reforms, includ...

**Sponsored by EasyDNS** Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: **notonrecord** A domestic assault trial. Twelve charges. A mixed verdict. Then an appeal that changed everything. In this episode of *Not On Record*, criminal lawyers Michael Bury and Nick discuss a remarkable appeal victory involving a highly contested domestic assault prosecution. After a nine-day judge-alone trial, the accused was acquitted of most charges but convicted on three counts. The defence believed serious errors had been made in the trial judge’s credibility analysis and took the case to...

**Sponsored by EasyDNS** Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: **notonrecord** The Supreme Court of Canada has finally stepped in to correct a legal misunderstanding that has influenced credibility assessments in criminal trials for nearly two decades. In **R. v. Berg, 2026 SCC 21**, the Court dismissed the accused’s appeal but used the opportunity to deliver important guidance on the proper application of reasonable doubt, credibility findings, and the landmark **W.(D.)** framework. Criminal defence lawyers **Joseph Neuberger** and **Diana Davison** examine how the Ontario Court of Appeal’s 20...

**Sponsored by EasyDNS** Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: **notonrecord** In this episode of *Not on Record*, Joseph and Diana break down a mind-boggling case involving "global charges" of sexual assault spanning a 23-year relationship. When an accuser alleges hundreds of identical assaults but their real-life actions—from planning a family to praising their partner—completely contradict their stated state of mind, how should the court react? We dive deep into the dangerous intersection of family law disputes and criminal charges, exploring where the legal principle agai...

EP#216 | What If They Lied About Their Age? by Possibly Correct Media

**Sponsored by EasyDNS* Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: **notonrecord** In Episode 215 of *Not On Record*, Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison examine a troubling trial issue: what happens when a complainant appears to tailor their testimony after reading the defence affidavit in a pre-trial application? The discussion focuses on Section 276 and 278 applications, reverse disclosure concerns, R v JJ, credibility, reliability, and whether cross-examination is enough to protect trial fairness when key details appear for the first time in examination-in-chief. This episode explores the growing tension between...

**Sponsored by EasyDNS** Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: **notonrecord** In Episode 214 of *Not On Record*, criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison examine the important Ontario Court of Appeal decision R. v. C.P., 2026 ONCA 333 and discuss how mental illness can properly factor into assessing witness reliability and credibility in criminal trials. The case involved allegations of sexual assault against a biological father and raised complex questions about a complainant who had a documented history of hallucinations, delusions, medication non-compliance, and street drug use...

Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison break down the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16, which recognizes a new tort of intimate partner violence. They examine how coercive control, family law, tort law, and criminal law now intersect, why the dissent warns the ruling may create confusion for courts and litigants, and how this decision could affect future claims involving domestic abuse, financial control, psychological harm, family court litigation, and proposed Criminal Code changes.

Sponsored by EasyDNS Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: notonrecord Episode 211 of Not On Record goes behind the scenes at a criminal defence firm to explore why preparation, human judgment, social media investigation, and old-school legal craftsmanship still matter in modern criminal defence. Joseph Neuberger, Diana Davison, and Amy discuss how digital evidence, complainant social media posts, withdrawn charges, online reputational damage, and careful statement analysis can dramatically affect sexual assault and domestic allegation cases. From removing outdated police and media posts after charges are withdrawn...

Sponsored by EasyDNS Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: notonrecord Episode 211 of Not On Record goes behind the scenes at a criminal defence firm to explore why preparation, human judgment, social media investigation, and old-school legal craftsmanship still matter in modern criminal defence. Joseph Neuberger, Diana Davison, and Amy discuss how digital evidence, complainant social media posts, withdrawn charges, online reputational damage, and careful statement analysis can dramatically affect sexual assault and domestic allegation cases. From removing outdated police and media posts after charges are withdrawn...

Sponsored by EasyDNS Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: notonrecord In Episode 210 of Not On Record, Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison break down R. v. J.H.C., 2026 ONCA 285, a Court of Appeal decision dealing with communicated consent, non-verbal consent, Crown appeals, adverse inferences, and what happens when a key witness is not called at trial. The discussion explores why consent in Canadian sexual assault law does not require verbal permission at every step, how judges assess credibility under the W.D. framework, and why gaps...

Sponsored by EasyDNS Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: notonrecor In this episode of Not On Record, Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison examine how the criminal justice system can be weaponized through false allegations, court motions, peace bonds, and complainant-driven litigation tactics. Using a current defence case involving historical allegations, alleged stalking behaviour, relationship breakdown, criminal harassment dynamics, voyeurism, sexual assault charges, and courtroom strategy, they explore how legal proceedings can become a tool of coercion, control, and harassment. This episode is essential viewing for lawyers...

Not On Record REWIND | Can a Judge Truly Be Impartial? Sponsored by EasyDNS Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: notonrecord In this Not On Record REWIND, criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison dig into a fascinating Canadian court decision asking a deceptively simple question: can a judge ever truly be impartial? Using R. v. Fraser, 2023 NSSC 45, they examine a Crown appeal of an acquittal based on alleged judicial bias, reasonable apprehension of bias, judicial impartiality, recusal motions, and public confidence in the justice system...

Sponsored by EasyDNS Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: notonrecord In this episode of Not On Record, criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison break down a fascinating Ontario appeal decision involving fresh evidence, recantation, no-contact orders, and the limits of the criminal justice system’s truth-seeking function. The case centers on a convicted man seeking to introduce post-conviction recordings in which the complainant allegedly recants her sexual assault allegations, only to later resile from that recantation when re-interviewed by police. The Ontario Court of Ap...

**Sponsored by EasyDNS** Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: **notonrecord** ## In Episode 207 of Not On Record, criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger and co-host Diana Davison break down a deeply troubling case involving 11th-hour disclosure, selective screenshot evidence, WhatsApp messages, false allegations, and serious concerns about how digital evidence is collected in sexual assault investigations. This episode examines how late disclosure at trial can radically change the direction of a case, especially when a complainant provides edited or incomplete message threads that appear to support one narrative...

Sponsored by EasyDNS Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: notonrecord In Not On Record Episode 206, Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison examine a disturbing case involving a false sexual assault threat against a prosecutor, and what it reveals about the justice system’s uneven treatment of false allegations, public mischief, extortion, credibility, and the real-world damage caused by wrongful accusations. This episode explores the legal and human consequences of false sexual assault claims, the difference between an acquittal and demonstrable factual innocence, and why so few complainants ar...

Not On Record | EP#205 | Bill C-16 EXPOSED: This New Law Could End Fair Trials Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In Not on Record Episode 205, criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger and co-host Diana Davison take a deep dive into Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, and explain why the proposed changes could have major consequences for Charter rights, sexual assault trials, domestic assault cases, Jordan delay applications, and the broader administration of justice in Canada. This episode breaks down how Parliament’s proposed amendments could reshape the handling of unreasonable delay, restrict the availability of stays of proceedings, and ex...

Criminal Defence Lawyers Joseph Neuberger, Michael Bury, and YouTube personality, legal researcher and host of the UnTrue Crime podcast Diana Davison, sit down and discuss the aftermath of their trials and the emerging and alarming changes to our legal system. A behind the scenes inside look into real courtroom drama. Website: http://www.NotOnRecordpodcast.com Sign up to our email list - http://eepurl.com/hw3g99 Social Media Links Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/NotonRecord Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notonrecordpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notonrecordpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notonrecord Telegram: https://t.me/NotOnRecord Minds...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In Episode 203 of Not on Record, Joseph Neuberger and Michael Bury are joined by Alain Filotto of Alpha Fox Forensics, a former RCMP forensic investigator and court-recognised expert in computer and mobile forensics, for a deep dive into digital evidence, phone extractions, metadata, screenshots, deleted messages, and the growing threat of AI-generated evidence in criminal cases. This episode explores how Cellebrite and other forensic tools are used to extract data from iPhones, Android devices, laptops, and cloud backups, why screenshots and exported chats are often unreliable, how deleted texts and app messages become...

EP#202 | The 7-Day Rule That Makes No Sense in Real Courtrooms Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord A year after the Supreme Court of Canada’s June 13, 2025 decision in **R. v. Kinamore (2025 SCC 19)**, the Not on Record crew checks the scoreboard: did Crown attorneys actually start bringing **voir dire** applications before leading **Crown-led sexual history evidence**, including **sexual inactivity**, **virginity**, and “lack of sexual interest” messaging? The Court said the screening process should *mirror* the **s. 276 Criminal Code** regime the defence is already forced to navigate, aiming for basic **parity** and fair notice so an accused can know the case t...

EP#201 | CCTV Exposes Sexual Assault Allegation In Episode 201 of Not On Record, we break down a rare and powerful decision in an Ontario university assault case that resulted in a factually innocent ruling after a judge made explicit credibility findings trial-wide and used the word fabrication in her reasons. This false allegation case Ontario unfolded against the backdrop of a police investigation failure, where officers relied almost entirely on the complainant’s account and failed to secure critical CCTV evidence criminal trial footage that the defence ultimately obtained. We examine how the elimination of the preliminary inquiry eliminated Canada in se...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In this milestone 200th episode of Not On Record, we dive into a live issue before the Supreme Court of Canada: R v Belinski (SCC 42030) and the ongoing debate over mens rea in sexual assault cases. When the defence of honest but mistaken belief in communicated consent is unavailable, does the Crown still have to prove the accused knew of, was reckless to, or was willfully blind to the absence of consent? The Crown argues that recent jurisprudence, including *Morrison*, has muddied the waters. But is the law actually unclear? We unpack conflicting...

In this episode of Not On Record, we dig into a real-world nightmare scenario: a sexual assault conviction based largely on credibility, followed by a late-stage application to reopen the trial because video evidence exists that directly undermines the accepted narrative. We break down how “fresh evidence” works before sentencing, why judges can still have jurisdiction to reopen proceedings, and why **real-time evidence** (video, audio, messages) can outweigh after-the-fact memory claims and assumptions about what someone “would never” do. We also tackle a developing legal battleground: does a surreptitious recording change the nature of consent (sexual assault by fraud), or is it be...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Two unusually messy files collide in one episode: a chiropractor accused during a routine treatment of an allegation so strange it practically dares common sense to enter the room, and a long-married couple whose financial dispute spirals into criminal charges and a three-day trial. The hosts walk through how these cases actually get resolved in the real world, why credibility isn’t just what’s said but how it’s said, and how the “paper trail” (texts, timing, behaviour, and courtroom discipline) can decide everything. Along the way: Crown pretrials, judicial pretrials, peace bonds, the...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Tonight, the crew breaks down **what sentencing actually is** (and when it happens), and why what looks “lenient” to the public can be the result of a very structured legal framework. They walk through the sentencing process after a **guilty plea vs. after a trial**, explain what it means when the **“facts are read in”** (and why the judge’s “are these facts substantially true?” question can derail a plea), and outline how Crown and defence approach sentencing with **aggravating vs. mitigating factors**, character reference letters, restitution, counselling, and case law. From there, they unpack...

Sponsored by EasyDNS [https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord](https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord) How should courts treat an accused person’s post-offence behaviour apologies, emotional reactions, “weird” texts, or even what looks like a confession without turning normal human messiness into “consciousness of guilt”? Joseph, Diana, and the crew break down the guardrails around after-the-fact conduct and why context is everything, especially in sexual assault cases. They walk through three fresh decisions: Townsend (2025 BCCA 459) on the danger of leaping to guilt from a volatile reaction (and the appellate correction when alternative explanations weren’t properly weighed), JA (2025 ONSC 4531) on how chaotic teen/young-adult...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In Episode 195, the hosts examine Bill C-16, the federal government’s latest omnibus criminal-law reform, and why it could significantly reshape Canada’s justice system. The discussion focuses on the proposed criminalization of coercive or controlling conduct in intimate relationships, the introduction of the term femicide”into the Criminal Code, and the automatic elevation of certain intimate-partner killings to first-degree murder. The episode also explores changes to criminal harassment, testimonial aids, AI-generated intimate images, sentencing discretion, and delay analysis under Jordan, raising serious concerns about evidentiary standards, constitutional rights, and the risk of abuse...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord ## Episode Description In Episode 194 of Not on Record, seasoned Canadian criminal defense lawyers Joseph Neuberger and Michael Lacy dive deep into the realities of jury trials in Canada. Sparked by a recent National Post article exploring the inner workings of juries, they debate whether they'd choose a jury or a judge-alone trial if charged with a serious offense. The discussion covers the impact of the 2019 abolition of peremptory challenges, the challenges of selecting an impartial jury in today's polarized climate, the importance of storytelling and engagement in jury addresses, cultural shifts affecting civic...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In Episode 193 of Not On Record, the team dives deep into the controversial resurfaced clips of popular Twitch IRL streamer Nina Lin (2–3M followers), where she and another female streamer engage in highly sexualized “pranks” on male colleagues and strangers—including twerking on an unwilling assistant and slapping a man’s buttocks during a massage—sparking accusations of sexual assault. The hosts explore the glaring double standard: why a male streamer doing the exact same thing would be instantly canceled, de-platformed, and possibly charged, while Nina received only short bans and mocked the backlash. A...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In Episode 192, we dissect the powerful new Ontario acquittal R v J.A., 2025 ONSC 4531: an 18-year-old boy is accused of assaulting his 17-year-old girlfriend after prom, only for him to discover (by guessing her password) that she was cheating; what follows is an explosive, toxic text-message war with hundreds of messages, repeated “you r*ped me” accusations, vague apologies, and almost no explicit denials; the Crown insisted his silence and equivocal replies amounted to adoptive admissions of guilt, but Justice Bordin delivers a masterclass ruling that explains why rapid-fire teenage texting cannot be read...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In Episode 191 of Not on Record, criminal lawyers Diana Davison and Daniel Brown dive deep into the controversial new Supreme Court of Canada decision R v Rioux, 2025 SCC 34 – a case that has defence lawyers, accused persons, and the public extremely worried. The Joseph and Diana dissect the Court’s ruling on sexual-assault complaints involving memory blackouts, alleged (but unproven and uncharged) drugging, and how much weight a complainant’s “feelings,” assumptions, and post-event beliefs should carry when she has little or no memory of the incident itself. They highlight the decision’s many “lemons” – trou...

Joseph and Alper dive into one of the most unsettling sexual assault decisions to come out of the Supreme Court of Canada in years: **R. v. Rioux, 2025 SCC 34**, released the very day they hit record. Still hot off the printer, the judgment sends Joseph’s blood pressure through the roof as he and Alper give their **raw, first reaction** to a 5–4 split decision that effectively rewrites how courts treat **consent, capacity, blackouts, and memory loss** in sexual assault trials. They walk through the core facts, then zero in on the majority’s treatment of **blackout and memory loss as circumstantial eviden...

Three piece suits, sock wars, and a serious legal deep-dive. In this episode, Joseph and Alper unpack the Supreme Court of Canada’s Quebec (Attorney General) v. Senville, 2025 SCC 33 ruling, which struck down the one-year mandatory minimum for possession/accessing child pornography on indictment under Criminal Code s. 163.1(4)(a) and 163.1(4.1)(a). They explain Section 12 of the Charter (cruel and unusual punishment), why reasonable hypotheticals matter, and how judicial discretion prevents grossly disproportionate outcomes using real world scenarios (including an autistic 18-year-old and the youth sexting hypothetical) to illustrate nuance. They also set the record straight on R. v. Friesen (2020 SCC 9): co...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In this case-review episode, Joseph walks through a 2024 file in which a supervisor faced five sexual-assault charges supported by a 300-page sworn statement. Drawing on two decades of defence work, the team contrasts that narrative with a full digital extraction: Instagram DMs, texts, recordings, and time-stamped photos that mapped a consensual relationship and ultimately led to the Crown withdrawing all charges. They address a persistent myth in online comments (“withdrawn ≠ innocence”), explain why demonstrably fabricated complaints appear in roughly 30–40% of their practice’s database, and outline the memo-to-Crown process, disclosure strategy, and the real costs...

Can police use text messages that a complainant voluntarily hands over without a warrant? Joseph, Michael and Alper walk through the fresh R v Dhaliwal (Oct 8, 2025) decision, recap the Supreme Court’s R v Marakah (2017) framework on privacy in digital messages, and contrast R v Reeves (2018) and Lampert (2023 ONCA) on third-party devices and shared control. They unpack Section 8’s “search” vs “seizure,” how passive police collection can still breach the Charter, and why 24(2) good-faith analysis often keeps the evidence in. The crew hash out when a warrant should be mandatory, the dangers of cherry-picked screenshots, and how AI-era fakery raises the stakes f...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In Episode 186, the team tackles a thorny “global charge” spanning more than two decades and uses it to unpack one of criminal law’s hardest strategic calls: how to handle prior discreditable conduct and bad-character evidence in domestic-context sexual assault prosecutions. Drawing on Ontario Court of Appeal guidance in R v MRS (2020 ONCA 667) and R v ZWC (2021 ONCA 116), they contrast narrative relevance with forbidden propensity reasoning, and debate when to object pre-trial versus “lean in” to expose contradictions, motive to fabricate, and animus especially when allegations number in the hundreds and particulars are thin. They...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Joseph, Michael and Diana discuss the meaty legal breakdown of His Majesty the King v. J.W., 2025 ONCA 637. They unpack how the Ontario Court of Appeal treats myths and stereotypes in sexual-assault cases, especially delay in reporting and continued association, what’s permissible to argue, and how to ground inferences without crossing into prohibited reasoning. Expect a practical tour of jury charges, prior consistent statements (and their limits), strategic tips for defence counsel, and why careful, collaborative charge-crafting matters on appeal. R. v. J.W., 2025 ONCA 637 - https://canlii.ca/t/kfdtw Website: ht...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Joseph and the team at Neuberger and Partners unpack why allegations on campus are surging and how university “pseudo-legal” processes can turn summaries into criminal evidence. They contrast postmodern “subjective truth” narratives with the actual law of consent, explain Stinchcombe-era disclosure rights, and warn students and parents about the risks of cooperating in internal investigations without counsel. The trio explores relabelling after the fact, social-media incentives, alcohol, and the cultural framing of “toxic masculinity,” while outlining practical steps: retain a criminal lawyer and (often) an education law specialist to protect academics and future careers. A s...

In Episode 183 of Not On Record we welcome special guest Marcy to dive into the chilling true crime story of Dan Markle, a father murdered in 2014 in a case that has captivated public attention for nearly a decade. This episode unravels the intricate web of a targeted hit allegedly orchestrated by his ex-wife’s family, driven by an extreme case of parental alienation during a high-conflict divorce. From the initial shocking tip from listener Brian to the recent conviction of the matriarch, Donna Adelson, and her appeal citing juror misconduct, we explore the key characters Dan, the victim; Wendy, the un...

Sponsored by EasyDNS https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord In this solo episode, Joseph breaks down R. v. D.D., 2025 ONCJ 355 (Sudbury) to show how courts assess child-complainant evidence in sexual interference cases covering the s. 715.1 video-statement rule, the dangers of leading questions, gaps around initial disclosure, and the W.(D.) framework for credibility vs. reliability that ultimately produced an acquittal on reasonable doubt. Along the way he offers practical defence insights (why “no opportunity” absolutes backfire, how to mine inconsistencies between in-court testimony and the video) and a quick primer on how judges tailor reliability analysis for young witnesses without lowering the...