The ReeveLaw Blog

Is a text message more like an email or a telephone conversation? Does it makes a difference if the text message is intercepted, or if it is read after it has already been delivered to the recipient? The principle that appears to be emerging now, according to the B.C. Court of Appeal, is that individuals can reasonably expect that police will not search their text messages without prior authorization, however all levels of courts continue to struggle with a determination of this issue.

Relatively recent advances in technology and surveillance powers raise new questions about expectations of privacy that an individual may have in regards to that technology. For example, courts hav…

Source: The Court » Blog Archive » BC Court of Appeal Upholds a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in a Text Message: R v Pelucco

Proof that an accused’s blood alcohol concentration exceeded 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood is an essential element in every ‘over 80’ prosecution. Two test results from a Intoxilyzer will be deemed “conclusive proof” of the accused’s blood/alcohol content at the time of driving unless it can be shown the instrument was “malfunctioning or operated improperly. The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that the defence is not entitled to an order requiring the disclosure of general information related to the history and performance of the particular Intoxilyzer 8000C device used thereby blocking any attempt to discover if the device was working properly.

Case: R. v. Jackson, 2015 ONCA 832 Keywords: Disclosure; ‘Over-80’; Stinchcombe; O’Connor; Subpoena Duces Tecum; Intoxilyzer 8000C; St‑Onge Lamoureux Synopsis: The Basic Facts A police officer sees David Jackson’s car drift into an adjacent traffic lane three times before inexplicably decelerating. The erratic behaviour of the car leads the officer to signal for Mr. Jackson …

Source: Supreme Advocacy LLP

“All of us know someone who has been charged with or convicted of a crime. Most of us don’t think this connection could cost us our employment but in the terrifying surveillance state we live in, you don’t have to commit a crime to be criminalized. You don’t even have to interact directly with people for their criminal records to be used to tarnish you. The government can accuse you of associating with a criminal, but not name him. Perhaps most shockingly, the government can suggest you are hanging out with a disreputable person, even as it uses the testimony of that apparently shady person against you. This is the consequence of racial profiling, carding, and draconian new laws like Bill C-51.”

The sad case of Ayaan Farah demonstrates that, in the terrifying surveillance state we live in, you don’t have to commit a crime to be criminalized

Source: In the security state, you’re innocent until investigated: Cole | Toronto Star

A conditional sentence (sometimes referred to as house arrest) is a jail sentence that is served within the confines of one’s residence. A person’s home becomes their jail. A breach of any conditions imposed will land them in real jail. People often consider this to be a soft touch, but in this case, Lori Douglas was Associate Chief Justice of the Court of Queens Bench in Manitoba until removed by the Canadian Judicial Council. In her isolation she gained some insight: “I got more and more depressed. I was stuck in the house. I had nothing,” says Douglas, noting her situation changed her perspective on the idea of house arrest for criminals rather than jail. “Got to tell you, I’ll never criticize that again. It felt like a prison.” Douglas says she’d experience panic every morning. She relied on friends to help her get through the day. And if she could make it to noon, the panic would go away. Without that support, she says, she would have committed suicide. “I lost my job. I lost my life. I lost my reputation. If it hadn’t been for my son, there would have been little reason to keep on.”

Source: Behind the headlines

There has been a recent increase locally in scams related to tax collection by suspects claiming to be police officers. Suspects advise victims by telephone that they have an overdue amount of taxes owed to Canada Revenue Agency and threaten that if they don’t pay, police will attend at their door and arrest them. York Regional Police do not engage in tax collection of any type. Don’t be scared and don’t be scammed. Just hang up.

The situation inside correctional facilities (i.e. jails) across the province “has gotten out of control.” The frequency of lockdowns are soaring. “It’s not a safe environment for anybody, the offenders or the staff.” During a lockdown the inmates are confined to their cell. They are prevented from seeing legal counsel and family, attending court, accessing medication, attending rehab and addiction programs and even food and showering. Rehabilitative programming such as anger management courses, addiction treatments and Bible studies are shut down during lockdowns. Some lockdowns can last a day or several days. Eventually they constitute a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

Prisoners, battling in court, say they’re deprived of hygiene, treatment, and outside contacts even before looming strike by corrections officers.

Source: ‘Astounding’ number of lockdowns at Maplehurst Correctional Complex | Toronto Star

Very few are “throw away kids”. Read this and feel the reality of rehabilitation and reformation efforts of the criminal justice system. It is people like this, our dedicated probation and parole officers who are the ones that promote healing and truly keep us safe.

Source: Youth Probation: Youth Probation

Although this is about family law cases with the inaccessibility of legal aid and the persistent downturn of the economy, these points are equally applicable to criminal law cases. Litigants without counsel: 1. Have unrealistically high expectations of the outcomes they are likely to achieve. 2. Are more likely to go to trial than settle. 3. Experience problems at trial as a result of their unfamiliarity with the law and court processes. 4. Achieve worse results than litigants with counsel.

A lot of good research on litigants without counsel has been published in the last three or four years, most notably, in my view, Professor Julie Macfarlane‘s “Identifying and Meeting the Needs of Self-represented Litigants,” a trio

Source: The Vicious Spiral of Self-Representation in Family Law Cases – Slaw

 If we’re going to continue to pack our jails with those on remands waiting a bail hearing or a trial and by handing out more and longer jail sentences then we have to pay the cost of jails and guards. Should correctional service officers and probation/parole officers be considered an essential service?

The corrections workers, who rejected an earlier tentative settlement, are in a legal strike position at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

Source: Union, government sit down to bargain ahead of potential corrections strike

Source: Crisis in Corrections | Ontario Public Service Employees Union