Criminal Defence Law Blog
Let’s watch and see the issues that the pilot project in the U.K. raises.
The UK Justice minister has just announced a pilot scheme for the introduction of cameras into criminal courts. The project will run for 3 months in eight UK cities. Cameras will film only the judge, and will be confined to sentencing remarks. The pu
Source: TV Cameras in UK courts – Slaw
A growing number of juries in Colorado are acquitting people of driving under the influence of cannabis. Residents just don’t think that being over the legal limit for cannabis is the same as being over the legal limit for alcohol, and they are correct. There is no authoritative data on blood-THC levels and impairment, as there is with alcohol.
This application of logic and defiance of an arbitrary number is driving prosecutors into a hissy fit
Source: Colorado juries keep letting people go for driving on weed, prosecutors and cops furious
“A judge has ordered a manufacturing company in southwestern Ontario to pay 10 months severance to a longtime employee after it fired him for cause upon learning the 66-year-old labourer was facing sexual assault charges involving underage complainants. Criminal charges for so-called “off-duty conduct” are not sufficient for dismissal, said the judge. There must be a justifiable connection to the employer or the nature of employment,”
Source: Off-duty conduct increasingly under scrutiny: lawyers
In a local Newmarket decision Justice Bourque reiterates that strip searches are not an acceptable routine procedure. “I am concerned that police forces put vague concepts of police safety before the human dignity of people they have in detention.” http://www.canlii.org/en/on/oncj/doc/2016/2016oncj133/2016oncj133.html
Cops in Ontario have been employing strip searches tens of thousands of times a year. Last week, one judge ripped apart a police force for forcing a woman to strip for, seemingly, no reason at all.
Source: Judge Reminds Cops That Strip Searches Are Not Routine Procedure | VICE News
If you have ever been arrested and taken to bail court you know what this Justice of the Peace says is true. Since none of us know if we’re ever going to be arrested it would be a good idea to be aware of this situation. The presumption of innocence does not just apply at trial but also in determining if an accused person should be granted bail and upon what terms. We need to fix this.
Profit driven, a US investment fund is poised to dominate the world market. “Britain will one day inevitably legalise cannabis. Our intention is to build a global company. This industry is worth $300 billion worldwide. There are not many growth industries starting from scratch worth that kind of money and in which no large companies are operating. One day we will have Marley Natural flagship stores around the world. One of them will be in London.” Money rules!
“Britain will one day inevitably legalise cannabis. Our intention is to build a global company. This industry is worth $300 billion worldwide. There are not many growth industries starting from scratch worth that kind of money and in which no large companies are operating. One day we will have Marley Natural flagship stores around the world. One of them will be in London.”
Source: Cannabis should be sold legally in shops, say Lib Dems – Telegraph
When the Prime Minister declares an activity to be legal the prosecution of that activity never serves the public interest. The courts are questioning why prosecutors proceed with these cases. As more and more people with medical exemptions are growing their own marijuana, if the government doesn’t soon seize control of regulating this as a legal industry they will lose the opportunity.
Source: Judges question simple marijuana possession cases as legality remains in limbo | National Post
A decade of a ‘lock them up and throw away the keys’ approach has left Canada’s criminal justice system broken and public safety at risk. Between 2005 and 2015, the federal inmate population grew by 10 per cent, however, crime rates have fallen every year. The growth was caused by steady increases of admissions of indigenous people, visible minorities, the mentally ill, and women. We have eviscerated social programs, health care, and educational services in this country.
Source: Tories’ ‘tough-on-crime’ approach has broken Canada’s justice system, say experts |
The Province will now provide complainants, but only those alleging a sexual assault, 4 hours of free legal advice. I wonder if that will encourage or discourage complainants from proceeding? I guess it depends on what type of lawyers the Province hires to give such advice.
‘It’s also a tacit acknowledgement that the system doesn’t work for survivors of sexual violence,’ one expert said of the effort to level the legal playing field
Whether an in-custody accused appears in court in handcuffs, leg shackles or other restraints is up to the Judge to decide. “Every accused, whether in custody or not, has the right to appear in court free of any restraint. A blanket policy of presenting in-custody accused in leg shackles and handcuffs in court is illegal, may amount to a civil assault and give rise to an award of damages.”
