The ReeveLaw Blog

“All court cases are about the exercise of state power. As the Supreme Court of Canada recently said, the transparency that flows from public access to the courts “ensures that justice is rendered in a manner that is not arbitrary, but is in accordance with the rule of law.” When the state prosecutes someone for an offence it is essential to democratic accountability that this fact be public. The exercise of state power must be subject to public scrutiny. That’s our best protection against its misuse.”

The exercise of state power must be subject to public scrutiny and thanks to technology, it’s now easier to do

Source: We should nurture the principle of open courts – The Globe and Mail

In North Carolina a 16 year old girl took a sexually explicit selfie and sent it to her boyfriend. She was charged with 2 felony sex crimes against herself and listed as both the adult perpetrator and the minor victim. If convicted she will go to jail and be registered as a sex offender for life. County District Attorney Billy West said “it’s their agencies’ job to enforce the law as written.” “That’s crazy. That seems like overkill,” psychologist Michelle Drouin of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne said.

After a 16-year-old Fayetteville girl made a sexually explicit nude photo of herself for her boyfriend last fall, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office concluded that she committed two felony sex crimes against herself and arrested her in February.

Source: NC Law: Teens who take nude selfie photos face adult sex charges – Fayetteville Observer: Local News

Continuation of our policy of prosecuting Richard Nixon’s “War on Drugs” will only continue the resounding failure of mounting death tolls and increasing rate of incarceration. The war is lost. The Canadian Drug Policy Coalition says “We can continue to work within the paradigm of drug prohibition or we can begin to explore alternative approaches and chart a new course that can help save lives, respect human rights and be more cost effective.” Canadians deserve an enlightened drug policy – one that is not destructive.

Richard Nixon coined the phrase, Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy gave it a celebrity boost and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has embraced it with open arms. Considering skyrocketing deaths due to drug overdoses, prisons bursting at the seams and ever-increasing gun violence on our country’s streets, it seems reasonable to assert that the …

Source: Federal candidates are silent on reforming national drug policy – Vue Weekly

1 Eyewitnesses are highly reliable. 2 Fingerprint evidence is foolproof. 3 Human memories are reliable. 4 Innocent people never confess. 5 Police are objective in their investigations. 6 Guilty pleas are proof of guilt. 7 Prosecutors play fair. 8 Long sentences deter crime.

Source: Eight common myths that make the US justice system seem fairer than it is – Quartz

Now, what’s the lesson here?

Source: Toronto cancels almost a million unpaid parking tickets

Why are we so crazy sensitive when it comes to anything involving nudity or sex? “How were you dressed when you were born?”

It is hypocritical to keep jailing the naked rambler when some of our greatest minds were applauded for getting their kit off

Source: Nudity isn’t indecent. It’s a British tradition | Philip Hoare | Comment is free | The Guardian

When I first saw the headline of this article I almost passed it over thinking, oh no, not another tired article on abortion however after reading it Christie has me wondering also, why do we keep arresting this 67 year old lady ad nauseum for peacefully holding up a sign expressing her opinion? “Oh yes, because in this country, when people disapprove of what you say, they will criminalize the speech. It’s not quite Voltaire, is it?”

At 11:02 Wednesday morning, Linda Gibbons sat uncomfortably, hands cuffed behind her back, in the rear seat of a Toronto Police squad car.

Source: Canada’s most-ignored serious criminal

“The average salary for suspended officers known to the National Post was $101,388.45. The practice of continuing to pay an officer who has committed serious misconduct creates the appearance that the police (force) does not view the misconduct as seriously as it should, and this can lower the reputation of policing.”

At least 80 police officers in Ontario were on suspension with pay during a three-week period this summer, a National Post investigation has discovered

Source: Paid police suspensions cost Ontario taxpayers more than $13,000 per day, investigation reveals

Source: New traffic laws come into effect this September

Victims’ rights are not an historical concept. That is because criminal law is an adversarial process of the state and it’s interests against individuals whose behaviour has not conformed with the rules and morals of society, for the purpose of ensuring the safety and order of the community. Victims are not a party to this dispute. Disputes between individuals is the realm of civil litigation not criminal law. While victims need to be respected in the criminal process the rhetoric of raising victims to the status of a party to the criminal prosecution confuses the issues, skews the process and is largely a political tactic. This audio provides but one example of the problems created.

The Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act lets victims know where their attackers are living. But threats of violence against a B.C. man who was found not criminally responsible for a violent crime have caused the B.C. Review Board to question that legislation.

Source: Threats to mentally ill attacker raise questions about revised legislation

Here is a thoughtful discussion raising issues the government apparently did not consider. 

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/The+180/Segments/ID/2609030826/