Victim surcharge challenged in B.C., Ontario | Metro

VICTIM SURCHARGE – It is a fee added to every conviction that Harper has made mandatory regardless of ability to pay. We will continue to fight it being mandatory. “The fines place an unnecessary and disproportionate burden on people who are poor. The reason why the judges, I think, are finding creative ways to try and bring fairness back into the system is because these are the people who hear and see the homeless individual who has no money, who is faced with what can be, for them, a back-breaking fine for minor offences.”

OTTAWA – Defence lawyers say mandatory victim surcharges being imposed on destitute offenders are destined for the Supreme Court of Canada as fierce legal battles play out in lower courts in British Columbia and Ontario.

Source: Victim surcharge challenged in B.C., Ontario | Metro

‘Cultural gap’ not a reason for lighter sentence for Iranian immigrant guilt of raping wife, beating children: court

To all of my friends and clients from other lands with cultural differences and mores, be aware of the fact that your actions will be judged here according to Canadian values with no discount or credit given for the “cultural gap”.

Source: ‘Cultural gap’ not a reason for lighter sentence for Iranian immigrant guilt of raping wife, beating children: court

KILLING AN UNBORN CHILD – Father of unborn child killed during mom’s murder wrestles emotions, wants new law | Windsor Star

– Although you can feel it kick and hear it’s heart beat and watch it develop, our law says that “a child becomes a human being when it has completely proceeded in a living state from the body of it’s mother”. Our society has adopted this value to be able to say abortions are not murder. As a result, killing an unborn child by other means is likewise not killing a human being and is therefore also not murder. We can’t have it both ways. Once we make these value judgments we have to live with the consequences as illogical, offensive and painful as they are.

Source: Father of unborn child killed during mom’s murder wrestles emotions, wants new law | Windsor Star

MICROSCOPIC FORENSIC TESTING IS NOT AS RELIABLE AS YOU MIGHT THINK

– FBI recently said that “most of the experts in hair microscopy gave flawed testimony during a 25-year period, potentially affecting more than 3,000 defendants. In one particularly egregious case, two FBI forensic experts confused a human hair with a dog hair. The defendant served 28 years in prison before DNA evidence exonerated him.” The same problem exists with “other so-called eye-balling techniques such as bite marks, ballistics, and even fingerprints.”

“This is a mass disaster.”

Source: It’s terrifying that prosecutors are relying on hair microscopy – Business Insider

EYEWITNESSES AREN’T AS RELIABLE AS YOU MIGHT THINK

– “Careful studies have demonstrated that, regardless of the level of certainty an eyewitness expresses at the time of original identification (which itself may be affected by numerous factors), a witness’s confidence in the correctness of the identification steadily increases over time. This occurs for psychological and cognitive reasons that have nothing to do with the accuracy of the identification, such as reinforcement of a witness’s beliefs by law enforcement and accounts of events promulgated by attorneys and news media.”

They aren’t as reliable as you might think.

Source: Eyewitnesses aren’t as reliable as you might think – The Washington Post

ISIS SUPPORTER BRINGS CHARTER CHALLENGE

He has a point. The court has imposed the equivalent of a criminal conviction sentence upon him although he has not been accused of or charged with breaking any law. He is a law abiding citizen. “With Bill C-51 passing we’re only going to see more of these.” Is this really what we want to see?

Although Driver is not accused of any crime, federal authorities are trying to limit his activities on the suspicion that he might help or engage in terrorist activities.

Source: ISIS supporter Aaron Driver’s charter challenge delayed – Manitoba – CBC News

JUSTICE DELAYED – A need for a statute of limitations in criminal law?

My friend and colleague makes a good point. Any Crown or Judge will tell you that historical cases are the most difficult to prove and usually result in an acquittal. Evidence is either gone or deteriorated to the point of being unreliable. The threshold for laying a charge is so low – as low as a person saying “40 years ago he did this or that….” that the ability to make false accusations and use the justice system as a weapon is very high. We DO need to consider a statute of limitations for all but the most serious criminal charges.

Toronto criminal lawyer Aaron Harnett says it’s time for Canada to have an open discussion about whether this country needs to adopt a statute of limitations for criminal offences.

Source: A need for a statute of limitations in criminal law?

REHABILITATION NEEDS TO BE RECOGNIZED – Irish Bill aims to wipe the slate clean on certain convictions

 “Having to declare a criminal record presents a significant, sometimes insurmountable, obstacle to accessing employment, training and education. There is no doubt that in the case of certain serious crimes, it is never appropriate to forget the fact of a conviction. Our European neighbours have long recognised this and they have all adopted so-called “spent convictions” laws that wipe the slate clean for many convictions after a specified number of years.” Harper is taking us in the opposite direction of the civilized world. He wants to make sure that you pay for your mistake for the rest of your life.

Frances Fitzgerald has stated her intention to enact the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012 by this summer

Source: Bill aims to wipe the slate clean on certain convictions