Friday, May 17, 2019 @ 12:42 PM
Drug convictions tossed as Appeal Court rules anonymous tip was not ‘sufficiently credible’.jpg)
Simply relying on broad anonymous information is insufficient ground to arrest, charge and convict someone, the Ontario Court of Appeal reminded police officers, Crown prosecutors and trial judges in a recent ruling. ... [read more]
Friday, May 17, 2019 @ 8:33 AM
POWERS OF SEARCH AND SEIZURE - Search warrants - Reasonable groundsAppeal by the Crown from the respondent’s acquittal on drug and firearms charges. ... [read more]
Thursday, May 16, 2019 @ 5:22 PM
Top court rules B.C. must offer trials in French for provincial offences
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 9-0 that persons charged in British Columbia with motor vehicle and other provincial offences have the right to be tried in French, on request — ending the practice of offering only English trials for provincial offences in that province (and arguably other provinces with similar statutes, such as Newfoundland and P.E.I.). ... [read more]
Thursday, May 16, 2019 @ 2:13 PM
PROCEDURE - Language of accusedAppeal from a judgment of the British Columbia Court of Appeal affirming a decision dismissing an application for certiorari against a decision refusing Bessette a trial in French. ... [read more]
Thursday, May 16, 2019 @ 11:53 AM
Manitoba police need proper disclosure rules for background checks, says lawyer
Explicit rules are needed in Manitoba for what information police provide as part of criminal background checks for vulnerable sector work, says a lawyer of a court decision involving a man turned down for a job as a school bus driver upon the discovery of unproven sex charges. ... [read more]
Thursday, May 16, 2019 @ 11:51 AM
Ontario’s legal aid cuts strike most vulnerable | George ThomsonCompounding the government’s numerous other cuts to programs and services for Ontario’s most vulnerable, Ontario’s attorney general has opted to make things worse by slashing their capacity to receive legal help and to be heard in our courts and tribunals. She and the government have done this by imposing much larger cuts on legal aid than on her Ministry as a whole, protecting other Ministry programs while dramatically reducing access to justice for people who need legal assistance. ... [read more]
Thursday, May 16, 2019 @ 8:48 AM
Is AI coming to a legal transcript near you?
We ask Alexa to play songs from the ’70s. We ask Siri for a weather report. We dictate e-mails and text messages to our phones. We speak into machines and they do things for us. They seem to understand us. But is this technology up to the task of preparing important documents like legal transcripts? ... [read more]
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 @ 3:23 PM - Last Updated: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 @ 4:05 PM
Ottawa revises appointment process to give Quebec more say in filling province’s three SCC seats
Ottawa and Quebec have struck what they dub a “historic agreement” to give the province greater say in the selection of Supreme Court of Canada judges from Quebec — a key demand made by the new nationalist Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government. ... [read more]
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 @ 11:12 AM
SCC’s Gascon says he is ‘fully capable’ of performing judicial duties after recent ‘panic attack’
Lawyers and judges are praising Supreme Court of Canada Justice Clément Gascon, who has experienced some dark days recently, for shining a bright light on anxiety and depression — two conditions with which he and thousands of other Canadians contend. ... [read more]
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 @ 3:11 PM
Chief Justice Wagner reaches out to Canadians via video; SCC will hear appeals outside Ottawa for first time
Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner will lead the top court to sit outside Ottawa for the first time in its 144-year history and, in another novel move, he announced that historic development to Canadians via a personal video statement posted on social media. ... [read more]
