Thursday, March 29, 2018 @ 6:48 AM
Liberals advised to ditch ‘tough on crime’ approach to justice system
Canada’s criminal justice system needs a major cultural shift to broaden its focus from deciding guilt and meting out punishment to helping to rehabilitate and reintegrate people — especially the estimated 70 per cent of accused with mental health or substance abuse problems, the Liberal government has been told. ... [read more]
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 @ 9:52 AM
Definition of ‘prison’ at issue in Ontario court caseWhat constitutes a “prison” was at the heart of the court case of a northern Ontario resident wanting to serve his weekend jail time at his local police station. ... [read more]
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 @ 9:14 AM
Restitution not appropriate in N.S. forgery case, lawyers say
Guidelines for restitution were laid bare in the Nova Scotia Appeal Court’s quashing of an order that a former small-town civil servant pay up after using forgery to get money for community projects. ... [read more]
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 @ 9:09 AM - Last Updated: Wednesday, March 28, 2018 @ 2:34 PM
Strip search underscores need for more police awareness
The breach of a well-established right is more serious than some newly founded right. This is because police and other state actors should already know and have training in respecting a well-established right and how to deal with the issue. In R. v. Harrison 2009 SCC 34, the Supreme Court of Canada repeated this almost trite phrase in assessing an exclusionary remedy under s. 24(2). ... [read more]
Monday, March 26, 2018 @ 1:31 PM
Supreme Court welcomes its newest member as Martin dons the red robes
When Supreme Court Justice Sheilah Martin’s proud father drove her back and forth to the train that took her from a Montreal suburb to McGill University’s law school, her dad assured her she had the right stuff to one day join the nation’s highest court. ... [read more]
Monday, March 26, 2018 @ 11:17 AM
DANGEROUS AND LONG-TERM OFFENDERS - Serious personal injury offence - Remand for assessmentApplication by the Crown to have the accused remanded for an assessment that it intended to use as evidence on an anticipated application to have the accused declared a dangerous offender. ... [read more]
Friday, March 23, 2018 @ 1:43 PM
Canadians inducted into American College of Trial LawyersA number of Canadians were named as fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers during a ceremony in Arizona. ... [read more]
Friday, March 23, 2018 @ 1:28 PM
OFFENCES AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND JUSTICE - Corruption and disobedience - Fraud on the governmentAppeal from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal setting aside the acquittal of Carson, who was charged with influence peddling. ... [read more]
Friday, March 23, 2018 @ 10:42 AM - Last Updated: Friday, March 23, 2018 @ 2:07 PM
SCC convicts Bruce Carson, interprets influence-peddling offence broadly
The Supreme Court has broadly defined the crime of influence peddling in a decision which affirms 8-1 the conviction of Bruce Carson for selling his influence with the then-Harper government to assist a water filtration company to sell water treatment systems to Indigenous bands. ... [read more]
Friday, March 23, 2018 @ 8:48 AM
A modest proposal concerning bias in the jury system
Gerald Stanley was acquitted in the killing of Colten Boushie by a North Battleford, Sask., jury. Boushie’s family and others believe this to be an unjust result. Along with being disappointed by the verdict, they have raised concerns about the jury selection process and, in particular, they believe that potential Indigenous jurors were excluded from the jury by the defence lawyer for Stanley. ... [read more]
