Imagine this scenario: It’s 3:00 am. Unable to sleep, you sit at the desktop computer in your living room and begin surfing the Internet. Out of a mixture of personal interest and plain curiosity, you explore a number of publicly accessible webpages, including that of a controversial religious leader, a sexual fetish discussion board, and […]
Last Friday, a bill was tabled in Parliament aiming to limit judicial discretion in granting two-for-one credit for pre-sentence custody, and both the legal and lay communities have been abuzz about this move. (See here for last Friday's post on TheCourt.ca.) The Legislation The bill is Bill C-25, titled An Act to amend the Criminal Code […]
On Wednesday, news broke that the Federal Government is planning to introduce legislation that will preclude judges from giving offenders enhanced credit for the time they spend in pre-trial custody. This move represents yet another unfortunate example of the Conservatives' continued efforts to unduly fetter the discretion of Canadian judges when imposing sentences. Enhanced credit […]
This weekend, I conducted a review of Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") rulings from the last 5 years and revealed a slight bias against Quebec and for Ontario. In 341 cases reviewed dating to 2004, I found that the top court was 24% more likely to allow an appeal arising from Quebec than it was […]
Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour has been selected as the next President and CEO of the International Crisis Group (ICG). Founded in 1995, the ICG is one of the world's leading non-partisan think tanks on deadly international conflict. It provides governments and intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank with field-based […]
Haida Nation v British Columbia (Minister of Forests), 2004 SCC 73 [Haida], established the Crown's duty to consult and accommodate First Nations peoples during the pre-proof period where an aboriginal or treaty right is being pursued. Haida is an acknowledgement that it can take a long time to prove an Aboriginal right. In the interim, Chief […]
On May 22, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") is scheduled to hear National Post, et al v Her Majesty the Queen, 2008 ONCA 139 [National Post], a case which should answer a question of grave concern to investigative journalists across Canada. At issue in National Post is whether the police can obtain a warrant […]
On November 4, 2008, California passed Proposition 8 by a margin of 52.3%, or roughly 600,000 votes. After years of litigation, kick-started when the Mayor of San Francisco began handing out marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004, the Californian Supreme Court held in May 2008 that previous changes to marriage laws (through 2000’s Proposition […]
Glen Soikie has submitted an application to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal his conviction and seven-year sentence for manslaughter. Mr. Soikie was charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Mr. Garcia-Briones, with whom Mr. Soikie had an altercation on the night of October 18th, 2004.
Dennis Jacob and two other members of the Aroland First Nation were driving along a road used by Kimberly Clark for its forestry operations. It was nighttime when they shot at what they thought was a moose. It turned out to be a decoy and provincial officers charged them for night hunting and for discharging […]