Two years after Ontario unanimously passed legislation banning police departments from sharing information on innocent residents, the law is still not in force.
Source: Editorial | Ontario should finally implement law on police background checks
MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES – Parliament needs to remove them all from the criminal code. “There were 29 offences carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment as of 2015, according to the Department of Justice, and several more that carry mandatory minimum punishments that do not include prison time.”
Cheyenne Sharma was a 23-year-old single mother living in poverty at the time of her crime
Source: Judge strikes mandatory minimum sentence in drug case involving Indigenous woman | National Post
FUTURE TORONTO ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE – This is bound to be controversial in many ways. For one, all of the “borough” courts (North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, College Park, Old City Hall and 311 Jarvis) will be consolidated into one downtown central location for the entire city of Toronto. (Except for Etobicoke which will continue to be used but only for in custody bail hearings.) It will be across the street from the Superior Court of Justice courthouse and the Ontario Court of Appeal. One location for everything. Parking?
Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of the Attorney General has announced that a fixed-price contract has been awarded to EllisDon Infrastructure to build the new 17-storey Ontario Court of Justice Toronto.
Source: Ontario Court of Justice Ready To Go Behind Toronto City Hall | Urban Toronto
THE POWERFUL TRUTH: Why So Many Women Won’t Report Sexual Abuse – This is a worthwhile read.
Guest blogger Garry Rodgers, former Royal Canadian sex crimes investigator, shares his perspective as to why many women still won’t report sexual abuse. He speaks about sexual abuse disclosures from his professional and personal experience. Don’t miss this incredibly informative and thought-provoking post!
Source: The Powerful Truth: Why So Many Women Won’t Report Sexual Abuse by @GarryRodgers1 – Rachel Thompson
THE JURY Pt. 4 – EMOTIONAL DAMAGE – Some trials can be horrific and disturbing. We as Judges, Crown Attorneys and defence lawyers know this all too well and it can be very difficult for jurors too. As well as financial cost there can be an even greater emotional cost.
The evidence in particularly brutal trials can leave jurors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. But in many jurisdictions across the country, jurors are simply thanked and dismissed after the verdict with little or no support to cope with what they witnessed.
THE JURY Pt. 3 – CAN YOU AFFORD TO SERVE AS A JUROR? It’s no wonder so many try to avoid serving.
Ontario compensates jury duty far less generously than other provinces. As a result, many prospective jurors simply ask to be excused — an outcome that experts say makes justice less representative of the community.
THE JURY Pt. 2 – Presently it is a criminal offence for a juror to speak openly about and an offence to ask a juror about the jury experience. In the U.S. there is no such restriction whatsoever. The differences are huge. Should we change? That’s a tough question.
In Canada, jurors are prohibited by law from making any public comment about their deliberations or reasons for a verdict. But is it time to change the law and allow jurors to speak?
Source: It’s time to let Canadian jurors speak freely about their verdicts, experts say – Canada – CBC News
THE JURY Pt. 1 – It is not peremptory challenges to the jurors that is the problem, rather it’s the composition of the jury pools that do not reflect the diversity of our population.
A Toronto Star/Ryerson School of Journalism investigation reveals how the province’s jury selection list, based on property assessment rolls, leaves many diverse Ontarians facing overwhelmingly white juries.
DRUG IMPAIRED DRIVING LAWS – You bet we’re going to bring an avalanche of constitutional challenges to this unconstitutional attempt to criminalize those who are not impaired by a drug. “The Canadian Bar Association said the Criminal Code overhaul “would bring a substantial amount of uncertainty into an area of well-established, heavily litigated law … further burdening our criminal justice system at a time when system delays have become critical.” Criminal defence lawyers are the last refuge to protect you from an overzealous government.
Drug-impaired driving is already an offence in Canada but the new legislation creates a legal limit for THC levels and allows the use of roadside screening devices