Criminal Defence Law Blog
More insight into what a law firm should not be
In 2011, a female assistant was charged with extortion after she threatened to expose Diamond for harassing behaviour and other activities. On investigation, police withdrew charges against her and concluded there was ‘sufficient evidence to charge (Diamond)’ but none were filed.
Source: Allegations of lewd texts to assistant put Jeremy Diamond in the rough | Toronto Star
“Our firm is mainly a referral source and initial screening agent . . . our firm will not represent or suggest that we will act for the client. Diamond — described as an “award-winning personal injury lawyer” — has never tried a case himself. Emails written between late 2009 and early 2011, appear to reference Jeremy referring out at least 2,200 clients to outside lawyers.”
Jeremy Diamond is the face of personal injury law. His ads attract thousands of clients, but their files are sometimes referred out for hefty fees — and he has never even tried a case.
“Six weeks and two court appearances before evidence was disclosed to the defence, trouble finding a judge and then scheduling conflicts between the Crown and defence lawyers.” Realistically there are a maximum of only 4 and 1/2 scheduled hours a day that a court has to hear cases, if everything goes well. “We used to be able to finish two impaired trials in one day. Over the past several years, things have changed so that, now, even for a basic impaired, at least two days are set aside for trial.” Provincially, it takes an average of 194 days to process an impaired-driving case. In Toronto, the overall average is 324 days and eight court appearances. At the downtown Old City Hall courthouse specifically, it is even slower, with an average of 376 days per case.
RIDE checks will likely yield scores of impaired driving charges in the next few weeks but many won’t be resolved until next Christmas
Source: Backlog of Toronto drunk-driving cases threatens goal of zero tolerance – The Globe and Mail
That’ll teach ’em.
Look at this headline. Every time you do, it makes you laugh.
Source: Canada Punishing Drunk Drivers With Nickelback — Vulture
The past Conservative government imposed a mandatory fine surcharge upon each and every conviction. The problem is that it didn’t allow Judges to take into account an accused’s circumstances and means to pay. If you don’t pay the fine there is a provision for jail time to be imposed. There are some people who simply are too poor to pay the fine and as a result are more prone to being imprisoned as a result. Debtor’s prison, for not paying a government fee. It doesn’t seem right. It’s not right. The present government is going to change that.
Three years after Stephen Harper’s Conservative government created a mandatory ‘victim surcharge’ for convicted criminals, the Liberals introduced legislation to give judges the authority to exempt offenders
Source: Judges’ defiance of victim surcharge sparks debate on limits of judicial role – The Globe and Mail
Most people want to stay out of the courts but a little legal knowledge can go a long way. Unfortunately a little knowledge is just that ….not enough knowledge.
Althea Reyes has used Ontario’s overstretched judicial system to sue everyone from ex-lovers to lawyers to a total stranger. In Toronto alone, she has sued at least 30 people, companies and organizations in the past five years.
Source: ‘Vexatious litigant’ continues to have her days in court | Toronto Star
It is a written statement admissible as evidence in a transaction or a proceeding by an act of legislature. The purpose of affidavit is to replace, where appropriate, expensive or impossible personal testimony with the most reliable alternative: written statements made in policy-compliant circumstances as verified by a trusted party.
Can a robot administer oaths?
Not until legislatures allow this. But technically yes. There are two kinds of legal tech. One does not require the state’s approval. The other one does. And, as is usually the case with lawyers, there is a grey area. Let’s talk about the grey area f
Like everything else policing is adopting the advent of technology, for good or bad. As defence lawyers we need to challenge and test the veracity of new technology. “Often, it’s enforcement agencies and not the companies themselves that are engendering public distrust. Police may be enthusiastic about adopting new technology, but they’re usually not as forthcoming in disclosing how it’s being used. They’re trying to sell into an aspect of government that is very, very secretive, which isn’t very helpful for the public’s trust in law and order.”
At home and abroad, Canadian companies are using new technologies to help police forces solve cold cases and deal with 21st century threats.
Source: How a wave of startups are bringing law enforcement into the digital age
In an effort to stem the tide police consider charging dealers with manslaughter. Is this approach likely to help? “Given that the “very serious penalties” that can accompany trafficking convictions have not stemmed the drug trade, it is unclear whether manslaughter charges will be a greater deterrent. These are not solutions that are really going to help the terrible problems that are going on with fentanyl”
Police are looking to treat fatal overdoses as homicides, arguing that holding drug dealers responsible for deaths could act as a deterrent
Source: Police move to treat fentanyl overdoses as homicides – The Globe and Mail
We used to have the Law Reform Commission of Canada that constantly reviewed our laws and made recommendations. They were a significant force in shaping our laws until the Conservative government cut funding in 2006.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_Commission_of_Canada
Now not only is a comprehensive review necessary it will be an “enormous task”. It’s rather like not repairing any roads anywhere in the country for 10 years.
Criminal justice experts are calling on the government to overhaul Canada’s Criminal Code, arguing it is riddled with outdated “zombie” laws and confusing, inconsistent language.
Source: Criminal Code filled with dated ‘zombie’ laws, experts warn justice minister
