The ReeveLaw Blog

A lawyer would answer: Well……it depends.

Tristan Brown’s car was struck by a piece of ice as he drove home from a Christmas celebration.

Source: Who is accountable when ice from another vehicle hits your car on the highway? | Toronto Star

“The reforms have compounded pressures on the criminal justice system and have led to an increase in challenges pursuant to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There were 64 mandatory minimum penalties in the Criminal Code and nine mandatory minimums in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Since 2005, 51 code offences were amended to either increase existing mandatory penalties or introduce a new one. Justice Department officials were tracking more than 100 constitutional challenges to mandatory minimum penalties alone.”

Source: Reforms have compounded pressures on Canada’s criminal justice system: memo – National | Globalnews.ca

“But it’s useful to keep in mind that old proverb: A man (or woman) who defends himself (herself) has a fool for a client.”

On trial for killing her husband, Xiu Jin Teng reminded us Monday that the judge can’t silence her or even tone her down, writes Rosie DiManno.

Source: Accused raises the volume in murder trial: DiManno | Toronto Star

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.

Source: Diamond & Diamond under fire | Toronto Star

“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

Source: Can a robot administer oaths? – Slaw