Source: NewmarketToday.ca
IF YOU ARE INTO TOP LEVEL DECISIONS – this is a good review of how the Supreme Court of Canada has shaped criminal law in the last year.
A Vancouver lawyer reveals how the court dealt with charter issues and the expansion of digital technology.
Source: Sarah Leamon: Reviewing the most important Supreme Court of Canada
RIDEshare by York Regional Police – Shared as a PSA. I watch these in-car and in-station videos all the time. All the time.
GRAPHIC TRIAL EVIDENCE AND HOW TO HANDLE IT – Justice Band has suggested a sensitive approach to minimize trauma to the trial participants (except the lawyers).
Justice Patrice Band, during a recent child pornography case, wrote of the “the trauma that justice system participants can suffer” when exposed to graphic evidence.
Source: Toronto judge wants courts to rethink how graphic evidence is presented | The Star
“Law Out of Wack with Science – Having Cannabis ‘In Your System’ Doesn’t Mean It’s Unsafe to Drive” – No one is in favour of impaired driving but we are also not in favour of criminalizing people for impaired driving when their ability to drive is not impaired.
SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES (HARD CASES MAKE BAD LAW) – The fact is that we no longer know the required way to pick a jury or how to handle the new “reverse disclosure” law in sexual assault cases and we won’t know until the Supreme Court tells us. It’s chaos out there. Give your thanks to Jody Wilson-Raybould.
The shadow of Ghomeshi looms over Bill C-51, but it also comes during the MeToo era and concern the trial process is still too hostile towards accusers
Source: Liberals’ sex assault trial reforms run into trouble as more judges find Charter violations
DESIGNATED DRIVERS – Passenger mom who had been drinking has car impounded and issued a roadside prohibition. “This was a combination of overreaching and a fundamental misunderstanding of the law,” Give them power and they will use it. Next time put mom in the back seat.
“This was a combination of overreaching and a fundamental misunderstanding of the law,” the family’s lawyer said.
Source: A sober B.C. man gave his impaired mother a drive home. Police still issued a penalty
LEGAL AID CUTBACKS – A VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES.
Three lawyers who have a few things to say about Legal Aid cuts. Part 7 in our series
Source: The Ford Fallout: “You’re seeing innocent people plead guilty to avoid navigating the courts”
HOW MUCH WEED DO YOU HAVE TO CONSUME TO EXCEED THE LEGAL DRIVING LIMIT? – “There are two prohibited levels for THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis: it is a less serious offence to have between 2 nanograms (ng) and 5 ng of THC per ml of blood. It is a more serious offence to have 5 ng of THC or more per ml of blood.” Does that help? Of course not. Nobody knows how much anyone has to consume to exceed these limits. The government just picked a random number and will convict you of “serious criminality” if you exceed it. If you are not a citizen of Canada you will be ordered deported.
Source: Impaired Driving Laws
IMMEDIATE ROADSIDE PROHIBITION – The crux of the problem is that “These new laws created by the province are bordering on creating criminal law, with the average citizen having little or no opportunity to defend themselves when the immediate sanctions are imposed,” The police become the judge and jury and executioner.
Manitoba introduced new impaired driving laws on Monday, but one local lawyer says it’s likely the regulations could face legal challenges.
Source: Manitoba’s new impaired driving laws problematic, Winnipeg lawyer says