Sentence Watch

The Honourable Justice

Patrick J. Duncan

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Sydney

Sitting.

Last updated

10 cases tracked, 5 flagged.

Below the Crown's ask
4
No jail for a violent offence
2
Increased on appeal
0
Offender offended again
0

Counts and the score cover the published decisions Sentence Watch has tracked, not every case this judge decided. How cases are chosen.

Leniency score

Rank 17 of 61 scored judges in Canada, 2 of 12 at the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. Sentences averaged 24% below the Crown’s ask across 9 comparable cases. The average across judges is 23.

  • Violent
  • Other
  • Below the Crown's ask
  • Not flagged

Flagged cases

  1. October 22, 2025
    R v. Caldi, 2025 NSSC 426Aggravated assault; Assaulting a peace officer with a weapon or causing bodily harm; Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose; Possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized; Breach of a release order, Halifax
    • On release at the time
    9 years' imprisonment (6 years aggravated assault, plus 18 months, 6 months and 1 year consecutive), less 2 years 8 months' credit; 6 years 4 months remaining
  2. August 21, 2024
    R. v. Farr, 2024 NSSC 246Assault, Halifax
    • Below the Crown's ask
    • No jail for a violent offence
    Conditional discharge with 12 months probation, including 80 hours of community service
  3. July 17, 2024
    R. v. Googoo, 2024 NSSC 247Aggravated assault, Port Hawkesbury
    • Below the Crown's ask
    • No jail for a violent offence
    2 years less a day conditional sentence (house arrest then curfew), then 3 years probation
  4. November 3, 2023
    R. v. Johnson, 2023 NSSC 375Manslaughter, Bridgewater
    • Below the Crown's ask
    Seven years' imprisonment, less 1259 days' credit for pre-sentence custody
  5. March 2, 2022
    R. v. S.F.M., 2022 NSSC 90Assault; Sexual assault, Halifax
    • Below the Crown's ask
    • On release at the time
    3 years 3 months federal custody (concurrent 18 months and 30 days on other counts); DNA, s. 109 order 10 years, SOIRA

Other tracked cases

  1. May 1, 2026
    R. v. Caines, 2026 NSSC 146Manslaughter, Sydney
    2 years imprisonment
  2. May 1, 2026
    R. v. MacDonald, 2026 NSSC 126Manslaughter, Glace Bay
    9 years in custody, less 1,526 days credit for remand
  3. January 19, 2026
    R. v. Forrest and Russell, 2026 NSSC 51Indignity to human remains, Sydney
    Time served: 781 days' remand credited at 1.5:1 as 1,172 days
  4. August 25, 2025
    R. v. Williams, 2025 NSSC 429Manslaughter; Accessory after the fact to manslaughter, Glace Bay
    11 years' imprisonment (9 years for manslaughter plus 2 years consecutive as accessory after the fact), less 443 days' credit; lifetime firearms prohibition
  5. July 6, 2022
    R. v. Isadore, 2022 NSSC 209Manslaughter; Abandoning a child, Port Hawkesbury
    18 years' imprisonment (15 years manslaughter, 3 years consecutive abandonment), less 1,374 days' remand credit

Offences sentenced

Professional background

No sourced background yet.

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