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.

Source: How a broken jury list makes Ontario justice whiter, richer and less like your community | Toronto Star

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

Source: Challenges to drug-impaired driving charges likely to clog up Canada’s courts, police warn | National Post

THE PROBLEM WITH ASSUMING CREDIBILITY – These are key allegations that have been recanted. As a result, a trial will probably never be held but regardless, the damage has already been done.

TORONTO — A key accusation which cost Patrick Brown the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party – that he plied an underage high school girl with booze – is not true, CTV News now acknowledges.

Source: Key accusation against Patrick Brown false, CTV now admits

CRA TAX SCAM – “I should be a smart guy. I wasn’t.” Look, Revenue Canada will not call you on the phone, they will not threaten arrest and they won’t demand payment in bitcoin. Be aware and don’t fall for this.

How did Tom Kane end up at a Bitcoin machine pumping in $5,000 to send to a scam artist? The answer helps explain one of the most effective ways Canadian victims get bilked.

Source: ‘I should be a smart guy. I wasn’t.’ How the CRA tax scam keeps duping us | Toronto Star

CAN YOU SHOOT SOMEONE WHO IS ON YOUR PROPERTY? – The law says no but the jury had a different view. Add to that the exclusion of indigenous people from the jury, this is bound to be a controversial decision. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/02/10/outrage-follows-not-guilty-verdict-for-gerald-stanley-in-shooting-death-of-colten-boushie.html

Gerald Stanley never claimed such a right, but his trial resurrected a dangerous fallacy among residents that could cause future grief

MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES CONTINUE TO BE STRUCK DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTRY – because they are rigid, unyielding and fail to take into account the particular circumstances of each case. The concept itself is “cruel and unusual”.

Dylan Scofield has an IQ of 59. He has pleaded guilty to sexual interference involving two 15-year-old girls.

Source: Mandatory prison for mentally disabled sex offender ‘cruel and unusual,’ B.C. judge says – British Columbia – CBC News