In light of the Omar Khadr affair, this post will provide a brief overview of the royal prerogative power over foreign affairs. As discussed in previous posts on TheCourt.ca (here, here, here and here), the Supreme Court of Canada’s ("SCC") interpretation of the government’s prerogative over foreign affairs limited the judiciary’s ability to force the […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal has released its judgement in R v Huggins, 2010 ONCA 746, a hotly-contended case surrounding a notorious dogfight. In a decision that will be an extreme disappointment to dog-lovers everywhere, the Court ordered that “Ginger” the pit bull be put down immediately.
Corpse to Appear on Cigarette Packages in the U.S. In 2008, Canada became the first country in the world to adopt mandatory warning images on cigarette packages. With the passing of The Tobacco Act, bold graphical warnings demonstrating the harmful effects of smoking were placed on cigarette packaging. Although Canada’s warning labels have inspired many other countries […]
The Supreme Court of Canada has denied leave to appeal from the Quebec appellate decision of Bellemare v Lisio, 2010 QCCA 859 (French only), ending the well-publicized legal battle over the fate of a public inquest into the death of Michel Berniquez. Nearly eight years have passed since the night Mr. Berniquez died from cardiac […]
Police interrogations involve psychological manipulation. The physical layout of an interrogation room is designed to maximize a suspect's discomfort and sense of powerlessness from the moment he steps inside. Interrogators attempt to develop a rapport with the suspect, using casual conversation to create a non-threatening atmosphere. Eventually, the detective confronts the suspect with bits and […]
As it stands, 2010 has been an interesting year for members of the media and media lawyers who are interested in the legal dimensions of the relationship between a journalist and her source. In particular, the Supreme Court of Canada has weighed in on two different issues related to journalist-source privilege. Earlier this year, the […]
In a previous post on the US Supreme Court decision, Bilski et al v Kappos, No.08-964 545 F. 3d 943 [Bilski], I discussed how SCOTUS alluded to the possibility that “business methods” could be patented in the United States – a case that did not outline precisely what kinds of business methods entailed protection. Canadian courts, by […]
On October 29th, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") allowed the appeal of a controversial civil case (Christensen v Roman Catholic Archbishop of Québec, [2010] 2 SCR 694) to be remanded to the Quebec Superior Court ("QSC") for assessment. The court will hear the story that a victim thought she would never have the chance to tell. […]
Schwarzenegger: Violent Video Games Should Be Treated Like Porn The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) had an “animated” argument on Tuesday—California was defending a five-year old state law that bans the sale or rental of violent games to those younger than 18. This California Civil Code was enacted based on studies that say […]
On October 21, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") held in Kuwait Airways Corp v Iraq, [2010] 2 SCR 571, that the Republic of Iraq (“Iraq”) could not rely upon its state immunity to limit the jurisdiction of a Quebec court in order to prevent recognition a foreign judgment for damages against it. The […]