EP#200 | Lawyers & Linguini: Supreme Court to Rewrite Sexual Assault Law?

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 appellate approaches from Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia, break down the knowledge element of sexual assault, and examine whether jury instructions are being overcomplicated. At stake is a foundational criminal law principle: the Crown must prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt. Is this confusion real—or manufactured? Episode 200 brings clarity, cake, and lamb shank.