If you have ever run into your courthouse library, out-of-breath and needing last-minute research on criminal sentencing, this is the tool for you!
LiRN is thrilled to announce a pilot of rangefindr.ca. Used in libraries, law firms, and courtrooms across Canada, it is now available — remotely and in your nearest courthouse library — to all lawyers in Ontario.
Get your login credentials within 24 hours by emailing [email protected] with your name and Law Society number. NOTE: rangefindr.ca and HeinOnline use the same username and password, so if you are already able to access HeinOnline, skip this step.
How to use rangefindr.ca
Click a few tags that describe the kinds of cases you’re looking for and rangefindr.ca tells you what sentences were imposed in those cases. One more click and you can review the judgments themselves. rangefindr.ca has saved years of lawyers’ and judges’ time.
Short explainer about how to use RangeFindr (2.14 min.)
Getting Started With rangefindr.ca Guide (pdf)
Check our CPD and Other Events page to find live rangefindr.ca training dates!
New! Canadian Sentencing database rangefindr.ca announces new feature: Guide to Pre-Sentence Custody Credit (July 2025)
Calculating credit for pre-sentence custody is a technical and rapidly-changing area of criminal law. The guide collects the leading cases, summarizes the rules, and flags the unsettled issues across multiple Canadian jurisdictions.
The guide also marks rangefindr.ca‘s adoption of the Canadian Open Access Legal Citation Guide (COAL) as its house guide. We are proud to support open access and grateful to the members of the COAL-RJAL Editorial Group.
The guide and future updates will be available at www.rangefindr.ca/eng/docs.
Acknowledgements
This pilot project will run from September 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025 through the Innovation and Equity of Access to Legal Information project funded by The Law Foundation of Ontario, and we thank the Law Foundation for this opportunity.
LiRN would also like to extend its thanks to the Great Library for their assistance in making remote access possible for lawyers, articling students, and paralegals as well as courthouse library staff.