James C Morton
Death of an appellant and mootness
Simon Fraser University v. Noble, 2011 BCCA 334 deals with the death of a party to litigation and mootness. Professor David Noble was involved in freedom of information litigation with…
It costs the same to send a person to prison or to Harvard. The difference is the curriculum.
Paul Hawken
Honour Killings and Domestic Violence
On July 22, Shaher Bano Shahdady, was strangled. Her estranged husband, Abdul Malik Rustam, 27, was charged with first-degree murder. The Shahdady murder at first seemed to be a typical,…
Even the lowest of the low have rights
http://natpo.st/nERU0x Excellent piece in today's Post
Domestic violence or honour killing?
http://bit.ly/nogJsJ From the standpoint of the deceased it doesn't make much difference. But from a societal standpoint it matters. Domestic violence is an attack on a spouse and is intended…
"Progressive policies follow from progressive values. Get clear on your values and use the language of values. Drop the language of policy wonks"
George Lakoff in "Don't Think of an Elephant". A very helpful book about how language defines debate and ultimately decides who wins elections. Worth reading.
"Ms. Turmel publicly reaffirmed her commitment to federalism this week by promising to not renew her membership in another separatist party, Quebec Solidaire, when it expires."
The above is from a Globe article. My concern is not so much with Ms. Turmel's former membership in the Bloc as her current membership in Quebec Solidaire. Apart from…
Domain name is "personal property"
Tucows.Com Co. v. Lojas Renner S.A., 2011 ONCA 548 holds a domain name is personal property for the purposes of civil litigation in Ontario: The attributes of property for purposes of rule 17.02(a) ...
John Oakley Show
I was on the show this morning and, as usual, had a great experience. John's a very solid host. One interesting question that came up was should judges be elected?…
$250M overtime suit against Scotia can proceed
http://bit.ly/r7tAj0 The Ontario Divisional Court has confirmed a lower court decision that a $250 million class action for overtime brought against the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) by 5,000 retail…
On the John Oakley Morning Show today at 8:10 am
Talking about appointing or electing judges.
Expanding the meaning of ‘dangerous offender’
Sensible piece in the National Post today on declaring the man who had HIV and had unprotected sex with numerous women a dangerous offender. A sensible use of prison is…
Treat the police with respect and caution
The tragedy below reminded me that many people do not interact with police often. When such interactions go wrong there is usually a trigger -- you can avoid that by…
Although the most acute judges of the witches and even the witches themselves, were convinced of the guilt of witchery, the guilt nevertheless was non-existent. It is thus with all guilt. Friedrich Nietzsche
Was Nietzsche right in holding all guilt an illusion? If we have no free will and are merely creatures of circumstance then yes, guilt is an illusion. But if we…
Lengthy delay in granting reasons may be basis for an appeal
R. v. Cunningham, 2011 ONCA 543 was released today. The decision largely holds that a lengthy delay between a decision and reasons may be a basis for an appeal: On May 4,…