MANDATORY MINIMUMS AND THE TRANSFER OF POWER
MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES and the transfer of power away from Judges. This, simply, is how it works. Let’s take a typical child pornography case. In order to induce a plea of guilty a Crown Attorney can offer to proceed by summary conviction and only seek the mms of 90 days in jail and agree to let the person serve the sentence on weekends. Don’t want to play ball? The Crown will proceed to seek the maximum of 18 months or elect to proceed by indictment where the mms is 6 months and the maximum is 5 years. Plead guilty to one count and you’re registered as a sex offender for 10 years but found guilty of two counts you’re registered for life. No Judge involved. How much of a gambler are you?
The Problems with Blackouts | Jim Wigmore | LinkedIn
THE PROBLEM WITH BLACKOUTS – incorrect inferences, assumptions and accusations.
SUSPENDED INVALIDITY – how does that work?
Today the Supreme Court of Canada declared the laws making doctor assisted suicide invalid but suspended the invalidity for one year to allow parliament to respond. So what happens in the next year if a doctor assists a patient in committing suicide? Is the doctor criminally liable? What happens if the doctor is convicted and sentenced to jail within that year? What happens if the trial doesn’t take place until after the year of invalidity?
OVERCRIMINALIZATION – the backward direction our government is taking Canada.
” It is surprisingly easy for otherwise law-abiding citizens to run afoul of the overwhelming number of federal and state criminal laws. This proliferation is sometimes referred to as “overcriminalization,” which affects us all but most profoundly harms our disadvantaged citizens. How did we get in this situation? It began with well-intentioned lawmakers who went overboard trying to solve perceived or actual problems.”
The Overcriminalization of America – Charles G. Koch and Mark V. Holden – POLITICO Magazine.
SLEEP VIOLENCE – is it a real thing?
Yes, it actually is. Can it be a defence to a criminal charge? Yes, it actually can be.
We know very little about sleep violence – Business Insider.
This Man Faces Life in Prison for … Rapping | David Loy
This article wouldn’t usually get my attention because it is an “American” experience, but with Harper’s use of terrorism to Americanize our laws and incarcerate people for expression, this is perhaps something we should pay attention to, because it’s coming here, sad to say.
The Hospital Loophole Drunk Drivers Use as a “Get Out of Jail Free Card” | Dr. Brett Belchetz
I’ll just put this out there, without comment.
The Hospital Loophole Drunk Drivers Use as a “Get Out of Jail Free Card” | Dr. Brett Belchetz.
Study shows ease of inducing false confessions
The danger in prosecuting historic offences is that memories can be created and manipulated.
Can domestic abusers be rehabilitated? – The Globe and Mail
DOMESTIC ASSAULT – If you’ve been charged you might benefit from reading this article. “love, expressed as violence, and violence described as love” The process is “automatic laying of charges in domestic-abuse complaints, stricter jail sentences, the use of separation and restraining orders, forfeiture of parental rights, and other now-standard tools of criminal justice.”
Can domestic abusers be rehabilitated? – The Globe and Mail.