OUR JAILS AND PROBATION SERVICES ARE IN CRISIS – “
“Just last week, inmates rioted at the Toronto South Detention Centre, setting fires, causing a flood and sending five correctional officers to hospital. On Monday, we saw a riot and hostage-taking at Thunder Bay Jail. Probation and parole officers have the highest caseloads in the country, while lethal weapons are being brought into parole offices and the government refuses to install metal detectors. Government spending per offender is the second lowest in Canada, rehabilitation programs and home monitoring have “gone by the wayside” and reoffending is on the rise. Premier Kathleen Wynne (has) a callous disregard for the correctional system and workers – making work more dangerous each day for union members.”
Members of the union representing correctional officers in Ontario have rejected a contract offer reached with the provincial government last month.
Source: Jail guards reject labour deal offered by Ontario government
Pet Peeves from a Law Clerk’s view, things I wish you knew and a little advocacy for lawyers. | Kimberly K. M. Pinheiro | LinkedIn
This is so true I’d like to give every new client a copy to read.
No such thing as pot license: York police
NO SUCH THING AS A POT LICENSE – You may obtain a doctor’s authorization to obtain marijuana and have a permit to possess it but there is no such thing as a license to distribute it. Two Richmond Hill marijuana shops on Yonge Street close down after police threats. Local restaurants are relieved.
2 Richmond Hill stores served notice
NOT EVERY BARRAGE OF POLICE GUNFIRE IS EXCESSIVE FORCE
Let’s not forget that the police have to deal with some very violent and dangerous people sometimes. Check out this recent video from Seattle.
Dashcam footage from police cruisers shows the suspect headed the wrong way on a one-way street, crossing over a median, and generally driving like a madman before he dies in a hail of gunfire.
Source: Video Shows Seattle Cops Gunning Down Driver After ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Crime Spree | VICE News
REFUSING TO SNITCH
REFUSING TO SNITCH is not an aggravating factor in sentencing however snitching may be a mitigating factor …. however, once you get to prison……
“First, to say otherwise risks the prospect of false accusations,” he wrote, because it gives accused people incentive to lie. “Second, it would likely put many accused who are being sent to the penitentiary in a difficult situation: either they “snitch” and risk danger while in custody, or they do not “snitch” and risk their sentence being increased for not doing so.”
ARE DONALD TRUMP’S COMMENTS HATE SPEECH?
Trump’s most recent comments might offend you, but they likely still couldn’t be prosecuted under Canadian law … but some of his older ones might
Source: If Donald Trump were campaigning in Canada, could he be charged for hate speech? | National Post
HIV AND THE LAW – I suspect most of us didn’t know this.
“People can be prosecuted even if they used a condom, had a low viral load, had no intention to harm, and did not transmit HIV. If they don’t (use a condom and have a low viral load), they are supposed to tell their partners beforehand that they have HIV. Some women have toiled to create email trails showing that they disclosed to their partners. Now, women living with HIV must contend not only with the possibility of rejection, shame, or violence if they disclose, but also with the fear of criminalization. The law provides abusers with another tool for blackmail and further violence, even in cases where a woman disclosed. All the partner has to do is claim she didn’t.”
Women living with HIV must contend not only with the possibility of rejection, shame, or violence if they disclose, but also with the fear of criminalization. The law provides abusers with another tool for blackmail and further violence, even in cases where a woman disclosed. All the partner has to do is claim she didn’t. It’s important to generate strategies, such as electronic or paper documentation of disclosure, to protect women living with HIV from harassment, blackmail, abuse, criminal charges, and prosecution, all of which are fueled by the law. They need ways to look out for themselves physically, emotionally, and legally.
THERE ARE NO WINNERS IN LITIGATION – Lincoln on the Practice of Law
“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser: in fees, and expenses, and waste of time. As peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.”
Abraham Lincoln
Notes on the Practice of Law
The Library of America, Lincoln: Speeches and Writings, 1832-1858
CANADIAN FIREARM LAW IN A NUTSHELL
“Presently, Canadian law classifies firearms into three categories: prohibited, restricted, and non-restricted. Prohibited firearms include military-grade assault weapons such as the AR-15 rifles used by the San Bernardino shooters, and sawed-off rifles or shotguns. Handguns are generally classified as restricted weapons, while rifles and shotguns are usually non-restricted. Anyone wishing to buy a gun in Canada and/or ammunition must have a valid license under the Firearms Act. To obtain a firearms license, all applicants must undergo a screening process, which includes a safety course, criminal history and background checks, provision of personal references, and a mandatory waiting period.”
TERROR NEXT DOOR: The San Bernardino massacre is just the tip of a bloody iceberg that has seen more than 12,000 Americans die from gun crime or accidents so far this year.
Source: How American gun deaths and gun laws compare to Canada’s | National Observer