Words matter. Words are important. Words have meaning. When we had the specific criminal offence of rape in Canada it was defined as non-consensual sexual intercourse. The word rape is presently defined by the FBI as “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration …
Author archives: wpengine
Trials of A Forensic Toxicologist: Cross | Jim Wigmore
Wise words from Jim Wigmore and what he says about the late Shelly Altman is all true. Source: Trials of A Forensic Toxicologist: Cross | Jim Wigmore | Pulse | LinkedIn
Ontario’s freakishly high rate of dropped criminal charges makes our jail overcrowding worse
THE HIGH RATE OF DROPPED CRIMINAL CHARGES – Consider this: A police officer lays a criminal charge when the officer has “reasonable grounds to believe” an offence has been committed. The charge then falls to the Crown Attorney who has the sole discretion to determine whether the charge should be prosecuted. In order to prosecute …
NOW THIS IS CONTROVERSIAL -Father of ex-Stanford swimmer reportedly called sex assault ‘20 minutes of action’
“20 minutes of action” can cause a lot of damage. Drunken guy sexually assaults an unconscious and intoxicated woman behind a dumpster near a frat house. Victim writes 12 page impact report of how the incident has dragged her through hell. Prosecutor asks for 6 years in jail. Judge sentences guy to 6 months in …
HOW DO POLICE CATCH CHILD PORN OFFENDERS?
Google reports allegedly pornographic video involving children which has been uploaded to a Google Drive. When Google finds sexually exploitive material, they report such contraband to [the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or NCMEC], and capture the IP addresses and account information. This information is given to local police who then obtain subscriber …
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FAIR LABELLING – What sexual assault isn’t
Feeling assaulted is not the same thing as being assaulted. The criminal law often struggles to keep up with innovations in serious wrong-doing which sometimes causes mis-labelling of offences. The result is failure of its principal object to guide citizens and members of the public in such a way that they do not commit crimes …
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DRIVING IMPAIRED BY MARIJUANA – Scientific basis for laws on marijuana, driving questioned
Determining whether a driver is impaired by the consumption of marijuana is not as simple as is the case with alcohol. The level of THC in a person’s blood has no scientific connection to the level of impairment. “There is understandably a strong desire by both lawmakers and the public to create legal limits for …
–ice, –ise, –ize | IS IT THE PRACTICE OF LAW OR THE PRACTISE OF LAW?
Typical lawyer answer is it’s either …. or both. The practice of law is practised ….. or we practise the practice of law ….or maybe we should just practize. Source: –ice, –ise, –ize | SlawTips
MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FOR PROSTITUTION OFFENCES FOUND TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Next stop, the Ontario Court of Appeal. Source: CanLII – 2016 ONSC 788 (CanLII)
GOOD NEWS REGARDING PARDONS
“About 10 per cent of Canadians — over three million people — have a criminal record.” In 2012 the previous government replaced pardons with “record suspensions”, quadrupled the fee from $150 to $631, increased the waiting periods from 3 to 5 years and 5 to 10 years and cancelled all pending applications. The present government …