Criminal Defence Law Blog
In the U.S. “Students now amass law school loans averaging $127,000 for private schools and $88,000 for public ones.” In Canadian dollars that’s $170,000 and $117,000 respectively and that’s only after accumulating the debt of a 4 year undergraduate degree before getting into law school.
Law schools have been able to raise tuition while producing twice as many graduates as the job market has been able to absorb.
Source: Too Many Law Students, Too Few Legal Jobs – The New York Times
“Canada’s crime rate fell 27 per cent over the past decade. However, the cost of our justice system more than doubled to $85 billion from $42.4 billion in 1998. Correctional Services Canada, which runs a nation-wide Restorative Opportunities Program, describes restorative justice as “a non-adversarial, non-retributive approach to justice” that emphasizes healing victims, meaningful accountability for offenders, and including citizens in creating communities that are both safe and healthier.” It is a system that is tough on offenders, includes victims in the process and is successful yet Harper’s “law and order”, “tough on crime” agenda is the antithesis of success and compassion. Which approach do you think promotes safety for Canadians?
In a moment of boredom, two teens in Lanark County, Ont., smash their way into a hardware store and help themselves to the goods. Police nabbed the pair soon after. But instead of going before judge and jury, the teens faced their victims in a citizen-run “restorative justice” forum. It’s an approach that’s gaining popularity across Canada, showing there’s more than one way to be tough on crime.
Source: We Should Use Compassion to Get Tough on Crime | Craig and Marc Kielburger
Supt. “Fenton was convicted on two of three charges of exercising unlawful or unnecessary authority, and on one of two charges of discreditable conduct.” His “decision to order mass arrests demonstrated a lack of understanding of the right to protest,” judge says. A sentencing hearing is set for December. We’ll see how accountable he his held then.
Source: Toronto police G20 supervisor found guilty of misconduct | Toronto Star
“Mobility rights are one of the cornerstones of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Every Canadian citizen is guaranteed the right to enter, remain in, and leave Canada as they see fit.” This proposed travel ban should be of immediate concern to anyone with Syrian roots and future concern to the rest of us. Travel to Syria to visit family or friends only to be incarcerated upon your return to Canada and then stripped of your citizenship. Harper’s Canada is not your Canada.
Police and public health authorities warn a new, highly addictive drug called Flakka can cause users to flip out for 30 days, while health researchers caution that those freaking out may be the police and health care authorities.
“Flakka is the street name for alphapyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and is mainly produced in China, where other synthetic drugs are coming from, and then distributed by dealers on the ground in the US for around $3 to $5 a dose. Unlike synthetic marijuana, flakka takes the form of crystals that can be snorted, injected, vaporized, or eaten, according to the institute.”
Source: Police Are Freaking Out Over Drugged-up Flakka ‘Zombies’ | VICE News
“Canadians must understand that by granting government officials the power to extinguish citizenship for some of us, the new law devalues Canadian citizenship for all of us. The permanence of Canadian citizenship is a cornerstone of Canadian values — once a citizen, always a citizen. With this new law, the Harper government has turned this idea on its head, turning millions of us into second-class citizens and establishing a hierarchy of belonging that deems some of us as less worthy of rights protection than others. The new law also blatantly disregards the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: it allows the government to discriminate against Canadians in flagrant disregard for the equality rights the Charter guarantees.”
Canadians must understand that by granting government officials the power to extinguish citizenship for some of us, the new law devalues Canadian citizenship for all of us. The permanence of Canadian citizenship is a cornerstone of Canadian values — once a citizen, always a citizen. With this new law, the Harper government has turned this idea on its head, turning millions of us into second-class citizens and establishing a hierarchy of belonging that deems some of us as less worthy of rights protection than others. The new law also blatantly disregards the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: it allows the government to discriminate against Canadians in flagrant disregard for the equality rights the Charter guarantees.
Misconceptions persist about how a person might be able to “beat” a breathalyzer in a roadside test. Get the facts here.
Source: Can You Trick a Breathalyzer?
Why cops across the U.S. are targeting men who pay for prostitutes
Source: Sex Buyers: Why Cops Across the U.S. Target Men Who Buy Prostitutes
The system is unforgiving, the consequences brutal. There is no fairness in the criminal justice system. The American style public defender system Legal Aid Ontario is moving toward will ensure that your publicly funded lawyer is nothing more than another cog in the wheel.
Every year, thousands of innocent people are sent to jail only because they can’t afford to post bail, putting them at risk of losing their jobs, custody of their children — even their lives.
