Bail for Murder
R. v. Nakashuk, 2011 NUCJ 16 deals with judicial interim release in the face of a murder charge. In such cases the critical ground will usually be the tertiary ground…
James C Morton
Prisoner watched using toilet has drunk driving charges stayed
Remember, she was accused and not convicted: http://www.thestar.com/mobile/news/article/1201902–prisoner-observed-using-toilet-has-drunk-driving-charges-stayed Videotaping prisoners using the toilet in holding cells violates their Charter rights to privacy and is demeaning, a judge has ruled. The…
Reasonable apprehension of bias
Lloyd v. Bush, 2012 ONCA 349 has a useful review of the law on reasonable apprehension of bias: In Chippewas of Mnjikaning First National v. Ontario (Minister of Native Affairs), 2010 ONCA…
Wagg Orders
When criminal disclosure is sought to be used in a civil proceeding a Wagg order to allow for same is necessary. Such order must be obtained regardless of the status…
You can be convicted of trying to pick and empty pocket
R v. Oersted 2001 BCSC 230 is a useful case dealing with attempt. Basically you can be convicted of attempted to pick an empty pocket – factual impossibility of the…
Syria denies responsibility for massacre: Could it be Army Units acting unilaterally?
If the Syrian government story were true then that government has lost control of its territory — the closest to reality the story may be is the government is splitting…
Food security
This story does leave me in two minds. One, who is the UN to dictate to Canada? But the other — the UN has a point. I have seen how…
Between 1925 and 1938 John Diefenbaker unsuccessfully sought elected office five times
In 1958 he won the largest majority government in Canadian history.
The reason there is so little crime in Germany is that it’s against the law
Alex Levin This quotation is faintly anti-German, playing to the idea that Germans are naturally inclined to obedience (not something I have noted much in my dealings with real life…
Designated counsel may properly enter a plea in summary conviction proceedings
R. v. Cole, 2012 ONCA 347 holds, in considering a procedural issue arising when an accused failed to attend trial due to oversight, that a designated counsel may enter a plea in summary…
I never think of the future – it comes soon enough.
Albert Einstein
What DNA can, and cannot, prove
DNA is a very effective way to identify an individual. Properly used it is almost infallible Only a few cells are needed for DNA identification, The source of a DNA…
Security for costs should be ordered less frequently with a greater focus on the merits of the proceeding?
Cinar Corp. v. Robinson, 2012 SCC 25 might be seen as a rather particular decision related only to Supreme Court practice but it has a suggestion of something more generally…
This 22-Year-Old’s Battle for Life
Bernie Farber wrote this moving piece and with his permission I repeat it in full here: In my tradition we are told that whosoever saves even one life it is…