Criminal Defence Law Blog
“Fulfilling the role of a Crown Attorney was extremely enjoyable. I was magically transformed from powerless student to a man who made incredibly important decisions, appeared on a daily basis in court and, best of all, worked with and directed police officers many years my senior. Unlike today’s Crown prosecutors who are closely monitored by …
Continue reading “A VIEW OF THE OTHER SIDE FROM THE OTHER SIDE”
“People always ask criminal lawyers if they can defend someone who they think is guilty. That is the easy job. Any lawyer will tell you that it is the innocent who are the toughest to defend.” Marie Henein “Tough Crimes”
We live in a court culture where the tail wags the dog. The Judge controls the courtroom, not the police. Thank goodness for Judges like Justice Schreck who recognize and correct this. Now let’s see if the police respect judicial authority or not. ” The practice in this jurisdiction of keeping all in-custody accused in …
“I think one of the great gifts that the study of law provides is that one is trained to suspend judgment. We start with a wicked cynicism but learn to put off taking a decided view. Things are never what they seem at first.” Marie Henein “Tough Crimes” This is the very trait that often …
Continue reading “TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY AND SUSPENSION OF JUDGMENT”
“Guess who’s left with the responsibility of issuing an exceptional release. The courts? Special psychiatric or medical advisors? Law enforcement experts? Parole gurus? The federal cabinet, that’s who. Steve and the same bunch of people who now decide whether pipelines get built — and just about everything else.”
“Trials are complex exercises often involving unforeseen developments. The essence of a trial is the re-creation of past human events through the mechanism of human memory delivered by sworn witnesses. Human memory is notoriously fallible and it is, in part, because of this that we utilize the test of cross-examination to ferret-out the truth. With …
This just kills me every time I see it. A perfect model for the conduct a fair, impartial identification line-up. Okay, can you guess which guy the police think is guilty?? (Ivan Henry, Vancouver, 1982)
“Criminal docket court in Miramichi is likely a mirror image of many others across this country. The courtroom is always filled with people accused of everything from shoplifting to very serious assaults and sometimes homicide. A battery of lawyers is always present with their clients and the scene is generally one of disorganized confusion to …
That doesn’t mean you can assault him but if you do, the court will lend some understanding of the circumstances. Sentence takes into account finding ex in bed with another guy.
“Tough Crimes demonstrates that Crown prosecutors and criminal defence lawyers do not escape unscathed from serious trials. The disturbing memories remain.” Honourable John C. Major, C.C., Q.C. Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. For anyone truly interested in justice and our criminal justice system, I highly recommend reading “Touch Crimes: True Cases by …