The litany of federal charges against the alleged ringleader and her posse is the first hate crime case of its kind -- the victims were mentally and physically disabled, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Sussex Police is being investigated over the treatment of a disabled 11-year-old girl who was physically restrained on five occasions.

BBC: Sussex Police restraint of disabled girl, 11, probed

In her 395-page ruling Ms Smith argued that suicide itself was not illegal, and therefore the ban denied the physically disabled the same rights as people who could take their own lives, breaking Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

BBC: Canada judge strikes down assisted suicide ban