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Courts
& Justice Headlines
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Correct
Corrections Canada
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Wrongfully convicted |
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Malik suspended
VANCOUVER - Almost seven years after he was found to have
misled BC Supreme Court about his family's finances, lawyer Jaspreet
Singh Malik has been suspended for a month and ordered to pay $2,520 to
the
Law Society of BC.
(Vancouver Sun)
Class action lawsuit
EDMONTON - Alberta's high court has ruled a class-action lawsuit can
proceed against the government over fees charged to residents in
long-term care homes. The society claims the province overcharged some
14,000 seniors more than $128M over a two-year period. (Edmonton
Journal)
NB
Law Society opens hearings
The New Brunswick Law
Society will start opening disciplinary hearings for the province's
lawyers to the public. (CBC) RELATED:
Ontario lawyer disbarred
Taxman can't jump queue
OTTAWA - Federal and
provincial tax collectors are no different from other creditors of a
bankrupt company and cannot force a trustee to pay the taxes ahead of
others, Canada' highest court ruled. (CBC) JUDGMENT:
2009 SCC 49
Legal aid expands
WINNIPEG - The
Law Society of Manitoba has approved a
pilot project to make lawyers affordable for the people who often fall
between the cracks of the legal system - the middle class. The
province’s poor can access
Legal Aid Manitoba when they need a
lawyer and the affluent can simply write a cheque, but it’s those in
between who are often unable to afford legal services, which start at
more than $100 per hour. (Winnipeg Free Press) RELATED:
Lawyers told to stop behaving badly
Crash victim gets $18M
An
Ontario woman has been awarded more than $18M, thought
to be the highest award in Canadian history for injuries
suffered in a car accident. (Toronto Star)
Law society’s 'good character'
TORONTO - A convicted hijacker and terrorist who
is facing deportation tried to convince the Law Society of Upper Canada
that he's rehabilitated and should be called to practise law in Ontario.
(Sun Media) PREVIOUS:
Hijacker says he shouldn't be deported
Compensation due
TORONTO - Ontario's
Ministry of the Attorney General is in the highly unusual position of
having to pay thousands of dollars in legal costs to nine alleged gang
members who were denied timely bail hearings. (Toronto Star)
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Class action blowback
TORONTO - The unusual scenario could
hardly have been envisioned five years ago, when a team
of class-action lawyers led by the Toronto firm of
Roy, Elliott, O'Connor
LLP, appeared before the judge with a proposed retainer
agreement, which would have seen 50% of pension arrears
paid to the claimants diverted to the lawyers. (Toronto
Star)
Loss of passport challenged
MONTREAL - A Montreal man is asking the
Quebec Superior Court to strike down a federal law that
can see parents who don’t pay child support lose their
passports and other licences. (CBC)
New trial ordered
OTTAWA
- The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered a new trial
for an Edmonton man charged with luring a 12-year-old
girl in an internet chat room. In a 7-0 decision, the
top court ruled that the judge at Craig Legare's 2006
trial erred by acquitting him. (CBC) JUDGMENT:
2009 SCC 56
Man acquitted
SCC upholds acquittal
OTTAWA
- The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the acquittal
of a Quebec man, who was arrested by police who mistook
him for his brother, and later found to be carrying a
bag of crack cocaine. In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme
Court said that the trial judge did not err when she
ruled that police had no reasonable grounds to arrest
Adele Burke in the first place. (CBC) JUDGMENT:
2009 SCC 57l
No malice
OTTAWA
- The Supreme Court of Canada says a Crown attorney who
pressed a controversial sex-abuse case against two
families of Saskatchewan foster parents in the 1990s did
not act in malice. (Toronto Star) JUDGMENT:
2009 SCC 51
SCC exonerates Crown attorney Stronger
shield against lawsuits
SK pay $1.5M to Klassen & Kvello
Miazga malicious prosecution case
Klassen/Kvello civil action
SK ritual abuse hoax
Disbarred lawyer sentenced
HALIFAX - A disgraced Halifax lawyer has been sentenced
to four years in prison for stealing more than $1.3M
from nearly three dozen clients. Srinivassen Pillay was
sentenced Monday in Halifax after pleading guilty to 34
counts of theft. (CBC)
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Civil liberties vs. justice
TORONTO -
A judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal said he
worries Canadians will treat the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with
disdain if courts routinely throw out evidence of serious crime because
it has been obtained through police misconduct. (Toronto Star)
Crisis of confidence
Court chaos shouldn't deny justice
Public faith in justice system
declining: report
Rights of accused
stronger than victim's
There
will be one law for all Ontarians
Bureaucrats: automatic prison terms won't work |
Challenging publication bans
Hide IDs in court rulings, privacy chief
says
Community court
Differences between community
& regular court
No hugs
for thugs
Delays jamming up BC courts
Judges routinely waive fines
Plea deals
Alberta courts flawed: top judge
Courtly
correspondence
Another secret trial
Secret trial
ruling limits police wiretaps |
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Rewriting our libel laws
OTTAWA -
The free press has become freer after the Supreme Court
rewrote Canada's anachronistic libel laws in dealing
with two high profile cases - one involving the Star,
another the Ottawa Citizen. (Toronto Star) |
2009 SCC 61
2009 SCC 62
SCC strikes a blow for 'productive
debate'
SCC advances free expression
SCC broadens defence against defamation
SCC back press
No matter what happens, you're not smart
enough to know about any of it |
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Ex loses common-law case
MONTREAL - The former common-law spouse of a Quebec
billionaire has lost her bid to get the same rights and
obligations as people who are legally
married. . (Montreal Gazette) |
Retro solutions to crime problems
CALGARY -
Alison Redford wants to revamp the joke
of a criminal justice system to bring it into line with the expectations
of severely sane Canadians. (Sun Media) |
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Man
found guilty of threatening crown attorney
WINNIPEG -
A Winnipeg man has been
found guilty of threatening to burn down the home of a provincial Crown
attorney only hours after he was sentenced for threatening to kill her.
Patrick Noble, 26, was convicted of criminal harassment and uttering
threats. (Mike on Crime) |
Woman suing for $2.5M
TORONTO - A
Canadian woman who was stranded in Kenya for three months when her
passport was rejected by Canadian consular officials who believed her to
be an impostor, is suing the government for $2.5M. (Montreal Gazette)
PREVIOUS: Diplomat
recalled
How much is 3 months worth? |
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Double sided appeal
WINNIPEG -
Jeff Cansanay walked free on a murder charge after
two key Crown witnesses refused to testify against him and the trial
judge wouldn't allow their videotaped statements to be played in court.
Corey Spence was found guilty in the same case after a
different judge ruled the controversial statements could be played for
the jury. Two identical situations. Two different decisions. (Winnipeg
Free Press) |
Lawyer acquitted
EDMONTON - An Edmonton
lawyer accused of playing a key role in a $30M mortgage fraud has been
acquitted of all charges. In a decision released Friday, Court of
Queen's Bench Justice Vital Ouellette ruled Scott Park, 43, is not
guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud. The ruling comes seven months
after Ouellette quashed 42 additional related charges. (Edmonton
Journal) PREVIOUS:
Kingpin in $30M fraud jailed |
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Crown lawyer wants strip search ruled
'sexual assault'
TORONTO - A Toronto Crown attorney who was forced to
submit to a police strip search is asking a Superior
Court judge today to lay sexual assault charges against
those officers. (Sun Media) PREVIOUS: Crown
lawyer accuses police of racism
TPA alleges misconduct in dropping of
charges |
SCC rejects appeal
OTTAWA
- Four killers convicted of first-degree murder in
gang-style shootings failed to convince the Supreme
Court of Canada that their convictions should
be overturned because the judges in their cases did not
properly warn their juries about evidence from unsavoury
witnesses. (CanWest) JUDGMENT:
2009 SCC 4
2009 SCC 5
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Jailing mentally ill
WHITEHOUSE - The Yukon
Court of Appeal says using a prison as a hospital for the mentally ill
does not infringe on a person's human rights under the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms. (CBC) |
BC Transit violated free speech
OTTAWA -
BC Transit violated rights to free speech when it
refused to carry political ads on the outside of its
buses, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. (CTV)
JUDGMENT:
2009 SCC 31 |
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Witness safety urged
CALGARY - Frustrated by a growing fear and silence among
witnesses connected to gang crime, police agencies are
asking the province to develop its own witness
protection program similar to others across the country.
(Calgary Herald) |
US courts cannot trump Canadian
OTTAWA
- The Supreme Court of Canada refused to defer
to American courts in a ruling that concluded that a
lawsuit filed in the US does not mean a
similar action cannot be pursued in Canada. (CanWest) JUDGMENT:
2009 SCC 11 |
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Arrest violated charter
VICTORIA - A Victoria defence lawyer is arguing that the
charter rights of a homeless heroin addict were violated
when he was arrested with a needle in his hand in a
secluded parking lot off Herald Street in June 2006.
(Victoria Times Colonist)
Charter a living bush of
poison ivy
Judge tosses charge
Jail conditions violate killer's
Charter rights
Judge throws out drug case |
Lawyers'
Association v. Ontario, 2007 ONCA 392
BC (AG) v. Christie
Mixed signals from
courts on openness
Rights infringed
Drunk-driving charge axed
Reduced sentence due to race
Charter challenged on prostitution
John challenges prostitution laws
Prostitution laws face challenge |
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Privacy czar investigating
TORONTO - Fearing that jurors' privacy rights are being
violated, Ontario's privacy commissioner is launching a
probe into mounting allegations that police have been
doing secret background checks on jurors. (Toronto
Star)
ICBC faces audit after
privacy breaches
Vetting jurors once routine |
Police ran jury checks
Secret jury vetting prompts
privacy probe
Probe lacks teeth
Taking steps to stop vetting
More secret juror screening
'Tainted' jury panels get
the boot
Details of secret police
jury checks revealed
Publication ban |
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JP found guilty
TORONTO - At
old city hall he's known as His Worship Jorge Barroilhet,
a justice of the peace who once ran a Toronto paralegal
business, fighting traffic tickets in court. (Toronto
Star)
Honour system inadequate
Forgot
to disclose conviction
Would-be
judge 'forgot' conviction
Justice of the peace facing charge
Judge charged
Incompetent lawyer disrupts trial
Judge's partner hit with
libel penalty
Disorder in the night court
Judge's bad conduct frees man |
Judge must share his pension
Judges warned
Jury
nullification
Judge unfit for office
Judge admits 'error in judgment'
BC judge apologizes
Foul-mouthed judge gets
backing from AG
Judge who cursed to
preside at special session
Hells Angel acquitted in
trafficking case
BC judge resigns after
being arrested
Charge stayed against BC judge
Disturbance charge wasn't
judge's first
Former federal prosecutor not guilty
RCMP used hydroponic shop in
Welland string |
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Lawyers a luxury
OTTAWA - Lawyers have to
come o grips with the prospect that they are a "luxury
good" that may no longer be needed in the country's
courtrooms as more litigants represent themselves, warns
a leading Canadian legal publication,
The National.
(CanWest)
Judge rips lawyers for excessive fees
Court in crisis
Stuck together: Inside
the modern divorce
Family fills court docket
Justice for all: a blueprint
Civil Justice Reform Project
Canadian lawyers
begin to outsource work
Law service helps
Courts
issues too many publication bans
'Too many cases set for trial'
Wheels of justice seizing up |
CBA task force on conflicts of interest
Greening your law firm: A
practical guide
Lawyers want more money
3 free trial days
BC's court costs impede justice
Gang laws mean we need more money,
lawyers
Fire chief fighting costly battles
Effective, affordable civil justice keys
Getting back daughter $180,000
SCC moves to help litigants
Representing yourself
Legal system too costly: Gomery
Apologies could cost, feds warned
Saying sorry to be made less costly?
BC Apology Act
Justice comes at too
high a price
Taking your own counsel
The dark side of justice
Lawyers’ fee fight
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Leniency behind growth of youth crime
There's and
old adage in economics: If you want more of something,
subsidize it; if you want less, tax it. The same could
also be said slightly differently in sociology: If you
want more of a certain behaviour, reward it; if you want
less, punish it. There are complicating factors in both
disciplines, but as general rules, both adages hold
true. (Edmonton Journal)
Fewer youths charged with crime
Canadian Research
Institute
Time for the truth
Crime stats: drilling down
for the truth |
Interrogators must tailor
questioning of youth
Jailing of youths in BC down by half
Youth custody 2005-2006
Crime statistics 2007
Gang violence bucks
stats can research
Crime statistics,
headlines at odds
Defining crime down to
our comfort level
Crime rate continues steady decline
Number of youths sentenced
drops
Youth custody 2004/2005
Boy accused in auto thefts
faces judge
Courts
failing us
Rally demands youth justice changes
Edmonton march
Prison would 'contaminate'
killer |
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BC Appeal Court holds judges to
impossible standard
VANCOUVER - First Kelly Ellard got one, and now Darlene
Young has received a get-out-of-jail-free card from the
BC Court of Appeal,
though both were convicted twice of murder. The
province's highest court has ordered expensive new
trials in both cases because appeal panels concluded the
judges in each case screwed up instructing the jury. In
doing so, the court of appeal appears to be ignoring the
common sense of jurors and holding the trial judges to a
standard few can meet. (Vancouver Sun)
BC Court of Appeal shortens
again
Appeal court overturns
reporter's firing
RCMP officer's liability
upheld
Shoplifter wins against security guards
BC Appeal Court upholds
blame against cops
BC Court of Appeals |
SCC overrides BC Court of Appeal
2009 SCC 41
Court of Appeal tells Ottawa to amend
Indian Act
Guilty pleas after BC Court overturn convictions
BC Court of Appeal overturns another conviction
BC Court of Appeal orders
new trial
Brute would face quick exit,
but
BC Court of Appeals latest
BC Court of Appeal reduce conditional sentence
BC Court orders another new
trial
BC Court of Appeal acquits
Convicted twice, not
guilty now
Third day in court
4th trial
4th trial
for Ellard
BC
judge rebuked
Make
the justice system accountable
Murder conviction quashed
BC's bizarre justice system
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SCC reinstates conviction
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada ruled to reinstate
a murder conviction against Kelly Ellard in the brutal
killing of BC teenager
Reena Virk 11 years ago.
(CTV)
2009 SCC 27 |
Conviction restored
SCC upholds conviction
Weak link in the chain of
justice
Murder of Virk and trials of
Ellard
The many trials of Kelly
Ellard
SCC reserves judgment
Justice system failed |
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Lawyer's spin
The
lawyer for Gilles Blackburn says she's surprised by the
level of animosity being thrust toward her client.
When asked if the court action might force search and
rescue teams to reconsider their volunteer work, Nancy
Wilhelm-Morden, Blackburn's lawyer said, "That's what
liability insurance is for." (CP) |
Lawsuit puts a burden on rescue volunteers
Rescue crews consider shutdowns
Lawsuit will forever alter search & rescue
Good Samaritan law
Shutting down search & rescue
BC rescuers stop service |
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Accused should get access to relevant police files
OTTAWA -
Canadians who are charged with crimes have a right to internal police
files about officer misconduct if the information is relevant to the
accused's case, the Supreme Court of Canada said. (CanWest)
JUDGMENT:
2009 SCC 3 |
Enough
NANAIMO -
Jerry Rose alleges that various
computer systems and chips run by the RCMP and the
province have been controlling his thoughts and
behaviour. (Nanaimo Daily News)
PREVIOUS: Judge throws out lawsuit
Mind
control not a farce
BC judge hears $2B
lawsuit
Tin foil
hat |
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Man must pay child support
TORONTO - A
Toronto-area man must continue paying child support to his former wife
despite DNA tests proving he is not the biological father of her
16-year-old twins, an Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled. (National
Post) |
Developers found liable
VANCOUVER - The developers of the
Westin Grand Hotel have been found
liable to pay compensation to investors as a result of false financial
projections that were overly optimistic. (Vancouver Sun) |
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SCC overturns
conviction
OTTAWA - The Supreme
Court of Canada overturned a first-degree murder conviction and
ordered a new trial for a Hungarian drug dealer who was in Canada
illegally when he was charged with shooting an associate whose severed
head was found near Squamish, BC. (CanWest) JUDGMENT:
2008 SCC 57 |
Justify why libel law needs change
OTTAWA - The country's top judges, faced with an appeal
that could establish a new defence against defamation
lawsuits, have challenged Canadian media organizations
to justify why journalists should be given a greater
"right to be wrong." (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS:
SCC ruling to clarify
free speech right |
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SCC rejects privacy of trash
OTTAWA - There is a no
constitutional right to privacy of trash set outside for
municipal collectors, the Supreme Court ruled.
(CanWest)
2009 SCC 17 |
SCC rules police can search your trash
Trash' case tests privacy rights
Police have right to hunt through trash
Trash
search 'violated' pair |
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Police need search warrant
VANCOUVER - A BC Supreme Court judge has
upheld a provincial law that allows municipal inspection teams to
investigate homes suspected of being marijuana-growing operations, but
ruled that police cannot enter a residence without a warrant in a case
involving a Hells Angels associate. (Vancouver Sun) |
Justices seek to scrap family court
TORONTO - Two of Ontario's chief justices are calling
for the province's family court system to be scrapped
and replaced with a new model that would see custody and
property disputes decided by judges housed in the same
courthouse, alongside a variety of family support
services. (Toronto Star) |
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Blocking transfer "unreasonable'
OTTAWA -
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day's crackdown on
transferring Canadians from US prisons has been dealt a blow by a judge
who has ordered the minister to reconsider his "wholly unreasonable"
decision to block a convicted child molester's request to serve out his
sentence in his home country. (Ottawa Citizen) |
Lawyer challenges ban
SASKATOON -
A Saskatchewan law
designed to hinder organized crime by prohibiting gang
colours in bars is being challenged on the grounds it is
unconstitutional. (Saskatoon Star Phoenix)
PREVIOUS:
Police target nightclub
violence
Privacy laws may kill
Bar Watch
Anti-gang effort
promotes safety in downtown bars, restaurants
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Employers can sack chronically absent workers
OTTAWA - Hydro-Quebec
was justified in firing a depressed employee with a track record of
chronic absenteeism, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled. (CanWest)
JUDGMENT:
2008 SCC 43 |
New trial
BRANTFORD - In a 3-0 ruling, the
court overturned Peter Mathisen's second-degree murder
conviction, saying the judge in his 2005 trial failed to
instruct the jury on a defence open to the
father-of-three - that his wife's death was caused by
"an unintended act." (Toronto Star) |
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Fine reduced for welfare fraud
VANCOUVER - Two welfare cheats who were fined $150,000
for defrauding the government have had the fine reduced
on appeal to $10,000 each. (Vancouver
Province) |
Abortion clinics remain protected
VANCOUVER - BC's
highest court has upheld a law that established bubble zones around
abortion clinics under siege from protesters. (Vancouver
Province) |
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SCC puts muzzle on police dogs
OTTAWA - There will
likely be a lot fewer scent-sniffing dogs routinely sticking their noses
in public places following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that
tightened the leash on police powers to use the canines for random
sweeps. (Ottawa Citizen) JUDGMENT:
2008 SCC 19
MORE:
Local cases likely impacted by court's ruling
Muzzling of sniffer dog
won't alter private business |
Break for violent offender
PENTICTON - BC Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen has
bent over backwards to go soft on a violent chronic
criminal by refusing to label him a "dangerous"
offender. In a lengthy, odd decision, the judge ruled
against a Crown application to have Wilfred Charles
Baptiste - a vicious, mentally challenged addict with
four-score and more convictions - indefinitely
imprisoned. (Vancouver Sun) |
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Beaver Lake Cree sues
EDMONTON - A northern Alberta aboriginal band has
launched a civil lawsuit claiming unbridled oil and gas
development in their traditional territory renders their
treaty rights meaningless. (Edmonton Journal) |
Shoplifter's rights violated
OTTAWA
- A woman who was convicted of shoplifting and later
rejected from becoming a police officer because of her
past won her case at the Supreme Court of Canada
yesterday. (Ottawa Citizen) JUDGMENT:
2008 SCC
48 |
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Solicitor-client privilege
OTTAWA - The
Supreme Court of Canada has ruled against the federal
privacy commissioner's quest to secure documents for an
investigation on the grounds that the documents were
protected by solicitor-client privilege. (CanWest)
JUDGMENT:
2008 SCC 44 |
5
years for bribery scheme
OXFORD, Miss. -
Richard 'Dickie' Scruggs,
who became one of the wealthiest lawyers in the country by taking on
tobacco, asbestos and insurance companies, was sentenced to five
years in prison for conspiring to bribe a judge. (AP) PREVIOUS:
US Class
action lawsuits |
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Lead by example
VICTORIA - I've got a great
suggestion for Madam Justice
Carol Ross,
the judge who ruled last week that it's OK for street
people to camp in city parks: Why not let the homeless
just bunk down in your courtroom every night? After
all, it's a
public space
and it would be a lot more comfortable for people than
sleeping in a cold, wet park. (Vancouver Province)
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Right to camp in parks
Court upholds right to camp in public
parks
Police wary of power to round up homeless
Judge pitched her tent on
shaky grounds
Homeless bylaws
'unconstitutional'
No solutions in courts
'I'm trying not to gloat too
much'
Police break up tent city
Right to camp in city parks |
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Parliament has right to create minimum sentences
OTTAWA - The Supreme
Court of Canada has issued a landmark ruling upholding the right of
Parliament to create mandatory minimum sentences under the Criminal
Code. . (CanWest) JUDGEMENT:
R. v.
Ferguson, 2008 SCC 6 |
Pot smell not grounds for search
SASKATOON - The scent of marijuana wafting from an open
car window doesn't give an officer grounds to make an
arrest and search a vehicle, according to a recent
decision from the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
(Saskatoon Star Phoenix) RELATED:
Ontario court allows unjust
searches |
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Ahenakew acquitted
SASKATOON - A Saskatoon judge has acquitted former
aboriginal leader David Ahenakew of wilfully promoting
hatred against Jews. (CP)
Acquitted
Not
guilty
3 minutes = 7 years in court |
David Ahenakew
2nd trial for hate crimes
Another trial for Ahenakew
New trial
for Ahenakew
Conviction
overturned
Ahenakew
apologizes (Dec. 2002)
BC
Apology Act
Allport's scale |
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Judge strikes down law
OTTAWA -
A Federal Court judge struck down the contentious Safe
Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United
States. The agreement, which came into force in 2004,
requires would-be refugees to make their claims in the
first of the two countries in which they land. (CBC) |
SCC rejects fly-in-water appeal
OTTAWA
- A hairdresser who claimed the torment of finding dead
flies in his bottled water wrecked his sleep, his sex
life, his business and his ability to take showers has
lost his bid for psychological damages in a ruling
Thursday morning in the Supreme Court of Canada.
(CanWest) JUDGMENT:
2008 SCC 27 |
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Ethical complaint rejected
BOULDER - The Colorado Supreme Court's Attorney
Regulation Counsel has rejected a south Boulder couple's
request that the state investigate their neighbors - a
former judge and attorney - for ethical misconduct in a
land dispute. (Boulder Daily Camera) PREVIOUS:
Obscure doctrine gives
former judge part of neighbours' land
Property right wrongly
taken
2nd judge
succeeded in land grab |
Former pupils seek redress
EDMONTON - Three
hearing-impaired people have launched a class-action lawsuit against the
Alberta government alleging "brutal and callous disregard" and "complete
lack of care" for children who attended the Alberta School for the Deaf
between 1955 and 1996. It is expected to be the first of several
lawsuits alleging abuse of deaf students across Canada. (Edmonton
Journal) |
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Right to remain silent not a given
OTTAWA - The right to silence in Canada is not an
absolute rule that requires police to stop interrogating people who have
no wish to speak with investigators, the Supreme Court of Canada has
ruled. (Toronto Star)
JUDGMENT:
R. v. Singh, 2007 SCC 48 |
$350-an-hour rate unfair
VICTORIA - The former "honorary solicitor" for the
Victoria Golf Club has had his legal fees for
representing the club in a dispute with a contractor cut
in half after it was found his $350-an-hour rate was
"inappropriately high." (Vancouver Province) |
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Murderer sues government
Ronald Smith, the
50-year-old Albertan facing execution in the US, is
taking the Conservative government to court over its
decision not to seek clemency for him from Montana's
death row. (Ottawa Citizen) |
Dion, Layton send their
own letters to Montana governor
Why not a thought for
the two victims?
Ottawa
won't try to save Canadian on US death row |
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Ex-crystal meth addict wins
SASKATOON - A Saskatchewan woman who overdosed on
crystal methamphetamine has successfully won a
precedent-setting civil lawsuit against the drug dealer
who sold her the highly addictive drug. (CTV)
PREVIOUS:
Woman wins crystal meth
lawsuit |
Judge tosses lawyer's charges
NEWMARKET -
A judge has thrown out charges against a York Region
lawyer who was accused of participating in a mortgage
fraud, ruling he has already suffered financially,
emotionally and physically because of a delay in
bringing his charges to court. (Toronto Star) |
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High court treads line
OTTAWA -
Closed-door judicial hearings should only be allowed as "a last resort"
and judges must make every effort to uphold the "open court principle,"
the Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday in an important ruling on
public access to the court system. (CanWest)
PREVIOUS:
Named
Person v. Vancouver Sun 2007 SCC 43
|
Court cuts jail time
VANCOUVER - BC Supreme Court Justice Glen Parrett
sentenced Jody James Gunning on March 22, 2007 after he pleaded guilty
to manslaughter at his second trial. He was first charged on May 6,
2000 with second-degree murder for the shooting of Chester Charlie in
Fraser Lake. (Vancouver Province) PREVIOUS:
R. v.
Gunning 2005 SCC 27 |
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Court strikes down agreement
OTTAWA - The United States is not a safe country
for refugees, the Federal Court said Thursday as it ruled that Canada
will no longer have the right to turn back asylum seekers at the
border. In the surprise judgment, the court found that
Safe Third Country Agreement breaches
the rights of asylum seekers under the United Nation Refugee Convention
or the Convention against Torture. (CTV) RELATED:
US says it
has right to kidnap British citizens |
Newspaper uses Anton Piller order
ST JOHN -
Brunswick News
Inc. has used a
little-known legal
procedure
to allow the search of a home of a former newspaper
publisher to try to ensure he doesn't use confidential
information to start his own publication. William
Kenneth Langdon resigned as publisher of the Woodstock
Bugle-Observer on Sept. 19 and has since opened the
office of the Carleton Free Press, which is expected to
launch its first issue in November. (CBC) |
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Disorders plague psychiatrists
EDMONTON -
Name-calling, factions and conspiracies are common in the
"dysfunctional" office of more than a dozen psychiatrists who analyze
criminals for the courts, an Edmonton judge has found.. (Edmonton
Journal) |
Allow police to testify for spouses
VICTORIA - A
murder-suicide by a man Victoria police identified as a threat to his
wife and family has prompted BC's attorney-general to push for Criminal
Code changes allowing police to testify on behalf of reluctant
complainants. (CanWest) |
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Adoption law struck down
TORONTO - Adoptees and
birth parents will no longer be privy to the personal information
contained in adoption records after Ontario Superior Court yesterday
struck down nascent legislation that allowed adoption records to be
opened. (National Post) MORE:
Court
strikes down law on adoption |
BC Court referees a family dispute
VANCOUVER - A dog throws up on the furniture and before
you know it, a beautiful friendship is ruined and a
family ends up in BC Supreme Court fighting an ugly and
expensive internecine lawsuit. This feud, triggered by
petty events with tiny stakes, got to the province's top
trial court -- and shouldn't have. (Vancouver Sun) |
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US
courts struggle to get jurors
Courts across the country
have been going to extraordinary lengths in recent years to get people
to report for jury duty - a cornerstone of democracy and a civic
responsibility that many citizens would do almost anything to avoid.
(AP) |
Woman sues over toilet accident
EDMONTON -
An Edmonton woman is suing Canada Safeway for $1.1
million after she allegedly tried to sit down on a
broken toilet in the grocery store and injured her
back. (Edmonton Journal) |
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Home invader loses appeal
OTTAWA - A BC man
convicted of using a gun during a home invasion, even though the gun was
actually in his car during the crime, has lost his appeal to the Supreme
Court of Canada. (CanWest) JUDGMENT:
R. v.
Steele, 2007 SCC 36 |
Restriction on English schooling
MONTREAL - Quebec's
Court of Appeal yesterday struck down a clause of the province's
language law that barred non-anglophone children who previously attended
private English-language schools from English public schools. (Montreal
Gazette)
New trial ordered, in English |
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Judge blisters cops for taping
A
Quebec Superior Court judge has declared the contents of
wiretapped conversations between a Hells Angels lawyer
and his clients inadmissible as evidence. (Montreal
Gazette) |
Lawsuit is not a SLAPP in the face
MONTREAL - An industrialist who's filed a $5-million
lawsuit against an environmental group denied yesterday
the legal action is designed to intimidate his
opponents. (Montreal Gazette) |
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Store bylaw invades privacy
TORONTO - The Ontario
Court of Appeal has struck down sections of a controversial Oshawa bylaw
that require second-hand dealers to collect detailed personal
information from people who sell them goods and transmit the data to
police. (Toronto Star) |
Officials have no duty to parents
OTTAWA -
Child welfare authorities don't owe parents a duty of
care, Canada's top court ruled Friday, saying such an
obligation would put the treatment of children at risk
by creating a conflict of duties. (CBC) JUDGMENT:
Syl Assps Secure Treatment
Centre v. B.D., 2007 SCC 38 |
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Justice Threaten
CALGARY - A
former RCMP commissioner says an incident in which a Winnipeg Crown
prosecutor was threatened from jail highlights the need for Canadians to
pay better attention to courtroom security. (CP)
RELATED:
Let judges run courts, lawyers say CBA
to discuss polygamy Access
to justice a 'basic right'
Canada's chief justice defends embattled lawyers
Lawyers Gone Bad
Response to the Canadian Bar Association
Lawyers are rats
Exposé makes lawyer Enemy
No. 1 |
Google faces landmark lawsuit
SYDNEY -
A consumer watchdog is taking legal action against
Google over the way it sells and displays its sponsored
links, in a case that could "send shudders down the
industry". The
Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) said that it believed its action, which named
Google Inc and Google subsidiaries in Ireland and
Australia as defendants, was “the first to seek legal
clarification of Google’s conduct from a trade practices
perspective". (Times online) |
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BC
Ferry lawyer sues
VANCOUVER -
Frank Poratto was one of about two dozen owners whose boats were
damaged when the
Queen of Oak Bay
slammed into Sewell's Marina in Horseshoe Bay two years ago.
(Province) PREVIOUS:
The dark side of justice |
Ontario court overturns award
WINDSOR - The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a
judge’s ruling that the federal government owes
thousands of disabled Canadian war veterans $4.6 billion
for its failure to properly manage their financial
affairs. (CanWest) |
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Family sues city over shooting
TORONTO - A family has launched a lawsuit against the
Toronto Community Housing Corp. claiming a decision to
cut security led to a drive-by shooting in front of
their home two years that injured their four-year-old
child. (Toronto Star) |
What a surprise
OTTAWA
- There is no need for sitting politicians to go through
a cooling-off period that would ban them from becoming
judges immediately after leaving office, says Justice
Minister
Rob Nicholson.
(Ottawa Citizen) |
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Man guilty of 2 murders gets new trial
NORTH VANCOUVER
- Shortly before Christmas 1986, Kerry Currie was watching the evening
news with her family, when they announced two bodies had been discovered
in shallow graves in the forest by Indian River Road in North Vancouver.
(Vancouver Sun) PREVIOUS:
R. v. Couture, 2007 SCC 28
|
Judge wishes he could have jailed man
over grow-op
VANCOUVER -. Provincial Court Judge Doug Moss said he'd
have liked to have sent Warren William Spencer, 24, to
jail, but legal precedents prevented him from doing so.
Spencer, who pleaded guilty, was given a 12-month
conditional sentence and 12 months of probation.
(Vancouver Province) |
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Crown appeals ruling
EDMONTON - The Crown
has filed an appeal of a landmark ruling by a Court of Queen's Bench
justice who rejected a judge's ban prohibiting media outlets from
reporting details of Michael's White's 2005 bail hearing. On May 31,
Justice Scott Brooker ruled that automatic ban was unconstitutional
because it contravened freedom of the press and could lead to potential
misunderstanding and mistrust of the justice system. (Edmonton
Journal) |
Tainted blood trial acquittals
TORONTO -
An Ontario judge has acquitted all
defendants in the tainted blood scandal, angering
victims of the worst public health disaster in Canadian
history. Former Canadian Red Cross chief Dr. Roger
Perrault, three other doctors and the New Jersey-based
Armour Pharmaceuticals Co. were all acquitted. (CTV)
PREVIOUS:
Accused in tainted blood
trial exonerated
All acquitted in tainted
blood scandal
Blood scandal
Krever
Commission |
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Shaw battles widow over payout
VANCOUVER -
Both sides in a civil lawsuit that produced one of
the largest personal damage awards in Canadian history have appealed --
the widow of a pioneer laser eye surgeon saying $6.4 million is not
enough, and Shaw Cablesystems Ltd. saying it's too much. (Vancouver
Sun) |
Foreigners given death
JAKARTA - Five Chinese nationals, a Dutchman and a
Frenchman who appealed against the length of their
convictions on drug charges were instead sentenced to
death, Indonesia's Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
(Reuters) MORE:
Dealers
appeal jail sentences, get death |
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UK has too many crime laws
LONDON -
The Lord Chief Justice, Sir
Igor Judge,
said repeated calls for less legislation, and especially
fewer crime laws, had been ignored by ministers.
(Telegraph UK) |
Prisoners 'can claim thousands
Dome raider gets legal aid to sue
Millennium diamond heist
Case
Closed: The Millennium diamond heist |
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Prosecutors head for exits
EDMONTON - A mass exodus of experienced provincial Crown
attorneys in Edmonton and Calgary is crippling the
proper administration of justice, prosecutors and
defence lawyers say.. (Edmonton Journal) |
Witnesses need more help: board
OTTAWA
- Toronto police are asking for Ottawa's help to protect
witnesses who have information that can help detectives
probing deadly shootings but often are too scared to
come forward. (Toronto Star) |
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SCC hears case
cloaked in secrecy
OTTAWA - A police informant seeking complete
confidentiality about his extradition battle clashed
with media outlets fighting for an open court system
when the Supreme Court of Canada heard arguments Tuesday
in a case cloaked in rare secrecy. (CanWest)
PREVIOUS:
Caseload reduction
baffles Supreme Court
Justice
is a myth in Canada |
Reversal of Teskey verdict sparks
complaint about judge
EDMONTON - Gail Vickery, Chief Judge of the Alberta
Provincial Court, says Lesley Miller's formal letter of
complaint against an Alberta provincial court judge will
be looked into promptly. (Edmonton Journal)
PREVIOUS:
SCC overturns conviction
Judge
took too long to write reasons for verdict |
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Despres not criminally responsible
FREDERICTON - A New
Brunswick judge has found Gregory Despres guilty of causing the deaths
of an elderly couple, but not criminally responsible in their gruesome
slaying. Today's verdict follows the second trial of Despres, 25, in
the deaths of Fred Fulton, 74, and Verna Decarie, 70, in April 2005.
(CP) PREVIOUS:
Judge rules Despres unfit to stand trial
Despres fit to stand
trial
Despres unfit to stand trial Man
with bloody chainsaw let into US |
Some judges more 'pro-freedom'
OTTAWA - Some Supreme Court judges
are stronger supporters of individual and economic
freedoms and equality than their colleagues, claims a
new report yesterday. The report, Judging the Judges,
categorizes the justices' decisions as "pro-freedom" and
"anti-freedom." Strong supporters of freedom include
retired Justice John Major and Chief Justice Beverley
McLachlin, according to the
Canadian Constitution
Foundation (CCF), which
put out the paper. (National Post) |
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Judging the judges
VANCOUVER - I was all set to join the rising tide of
protest against the appeal- court judges who toned down
Darnell Pratt's sentence for the torture-killing of gas
jockey Grant De Patie on racial grounds. But then I did
something I suspect few others have. I read the
judgment. (Vancouver Province) JUDGMENT:
Court of appeal for BC:
R. v. Pratt
PREVIOUS:
Sentence reduction sparks
outrage |
Law society overturns suspension
VANCOUVER - A prominent lawyer who worked on the Air
India bombing case has had a six-month suspension
overturned on appeal by benchers of the BC Law Society.
Instead, David Martin has been reprimanded and must pay
a total of $55,000 after being found guilty of
professional misconduct for submitting fraudulent bills
while he was representing convicted terrorist Inderjit
Singh Reyat. (Vancouver Sun) |
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Yahoo sued by wife of
activist
SAN FRANCISCO - The
wife of
an imprisoned Chinese dissident sued
Yahoo!
Inc. under human-rights laws Wednesday, saying the
Internet company voluntarily revealed her husband's
identity to the Chinese government and is responsible
for his arrest and torture.. (SF Gate) |
Pot advocate must get drug in jail
CALGARY - A judge says he had no choice but to send
medicinal marijuana crusader Grant Krieger to jail for
drug trafficking, but he wants assurances corrections
authorities will uphold Krieger's constitutional
exemption to have the drug behind bars to alleviate pain
for his multiple sclerosis. (Calgary Herald) |
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Vancouver man sues Wikipedia
VANCOUVER - A Vancouver businessman who was once a key
Green party organizer is suing the producers of
Wikipedia for libel. Wayne Crookes has filed a
statement of claim against the Wikimedia Foundation
alleging several web writers who use aliases on-line
have libelled him on the open-source web encyclopaedia.
(CP) MORE:
Wikipedia: How to edit a page |
The slow wheels of justice
MONTREAL -
The estate of the late Peter N. Widdrington v. Elliot C.
Wightman and others – better known as the Castor
Holdings case – has its origins in the 1992 collapse of
a Montreal real estate holding company. After Castor
went bankrupt, some 75 investors filed lawsuits,
alleging they were misled about the company's financial
health. The case has become perhaps the most extreme
example of Canada's slow-moving justice system.
(Toronto Star) |
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Waiting time could leave MDs
liable
OTTAWA
- Doctors whose patients wait longer than the prescribed
wait times for medical procedures could find themselves
legally liable, says the organization that defends
Canadian physicians against lawsuits. (CP) |
MySpace
sued over assaults
NEW YORK -
Four families have sued News Corp. and its MySpace
social-networking site after their underage daughters
were sexually abused by adults they met on the site,
lawyers for the families said Thursday. (AP) |
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Zambia loses 'vulture fund' case
LONDON
- A High Court judge has ruled that Zambia must pay a
substantial sum to a so-called "vulture
fund"
British Virgin Islands-based Donegal International paid
less than $4m for a debt the African nation owed, but
sued Zambia for a $42m repayment. It said its bill was
the result of interest and costs, but the judge will
decide how much Zambia should pay. (BBC) MORE:
Time to
clip the wings of vulture funds |
Premier's in-law guilty, avoids jail in
fraud case
VANCOUVER - A judge in Vancouver has sentenced former
Prince George car dealer Doug Walls and his associate,
Mike Millard, to a conditional sentence of two years.
The two men admitted they defrauded CIBC of more than
$5,000 in a case related to a car dealership that went
under in 1998. (CP) MORE:
Walls and Millard
sentenced No
jail time for Walls |
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Family sues radio station
SACRAMENTO - The family
of a California woman who died after participating in a
radio station's water-drinking contest will sue the
station, their lawyer said on Thursday. Jennifer
Strange, 28, a mother of three, died from suspected
water intoxication after taking part in Friday's
competition, "Hold your wee for a Wii."
(Reuters) PREVIOUS:
Police probe water
intoxication death
Criminal probe launched
into water-poisoning
Ten Fired
After Radio Contest Tragedy |
Parents must prove blood not needed
VANCOUVER -
The Jehovah's
Witness parents fighting to prevent their four surviving
babies from receiving blood transfusions will have to
prove the procedures are not medically necessary if they
hope to have them stopped, an expert in family law said (Vancouver Sun)
PREVIOUS:
Campbell defends seizing
kids
Medical experts told BC
to seize sextuplets
Church vs State
Chronology of the
government's intervention
BC
sextuplets stir debate |
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DA: Norman sold judgeship
NEW YORK -
Brooklyn prosecutors are seeking
to indict deposed Brooklyn Democratic Party chairman
Clarence Norman Jr.
for allegedly selling a judgeship
for at least $50,000 in cash and $6,000 in postage
stamps, it was reported yesterday. (NY Daily News)
MORE:
The sales of justice
Norman
pal deal |
City Hall fouls up condo fight
TORONTO - In the afternoon, the city sent its late
request to the Ontario Municipal Board, claiming special
circumstances because the lawyer on the case had been
away having surgery and none of the other 18 lawyers in
the department knew to file the papers. (Toronto Star) |
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Killer dealt two life sentences
CALGARY -
The long and winding road to justice for an American
double murderer Timothy Wallace found hiding in a motel in the Alberta
foothills has ended in an Arkansas courtroom with a
guilty verdict and two consecutive life sentences. the death penalty. (Calgary Herald)
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Stay of execution
A haven for murderers
Victim's mother wants Wallace returned
Canada defends U.S. fugitive
American
fugitive to be deported to US |
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Squeegee-kid ban upheld
TORONTO - Banning squeegee people from begging on public
roadways violates their freedom of expression. But
regulating pedestrians and traffic and reducing dangers
on the streets is important enough to override that
constitutional right, the Ontario Court of Appeal has
ruled. (Toronto Star) MORE:
Squeegee panhandling washed
out by Ontario Appeal Court |
Court rules boy has dad and 2 moms
TORONTO - Ontario's highest court has given legal
parental status to the lesbian partner of a biological
mother, essentially giving a young boy three parents.
The case is believed to be the first in Canada in which
a child has more than two legal parents. (Toronto
Star) MORE:
Ruling may redefine family |
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Nudist colony to reinstate 'loner'
A
Vancouver Island nudist, who was ejected from his colony
for failing to be sociable with the other nudists, has
been ordered reinstated. In a BC Supreme Court judgment
yesterday, Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein ordered Jerry
Grenier be reinstated as a probationary member in the
Sol Sante Club. (Times Colonist) |
Dumas family to launch lawsuit against
police
WINNIPEG -
The family of
Matthew Dumas
is launching a
wrongful-death lawsuit against the Winnipeg Police
Service and the City of Winnipeg, in the hopes of
uncovering the facts about how the aboriginal teenager
was shot dead by a police officer in 2005. (CBC)
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Judge sends 'clear message'
EDMONTON - Provincial court Judge James Wheatley issued
the highest sentence ever handed out in Canada to Chad
James Kobelka, 19, for a chase in January 2006 that
forever robbed baby Jaina Herbers of the ability to eat,
cry and breathe on her own. (Edmonton Journal) |
Belonging to terror group not a right:
judge
TORONTO - A Beirut-born man who argued he should not be
deported because his involvement in a Palestinian
terrorist group was a form of "freedom of expression"
has lost his bid to remain in Canada. (National Post) |
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Nancy
Grace sued for wrongful death
ORLANDO - The
parents of a woman who committed suicide shortly after a
grilling by
Nancy Grace today filed
a lawsuit against the TV host, claiming that their
daughter was driven to her death by the hard-charging
former prosecutor. (Smoking Gun) |
Judge rules paper money unfair to blind
NEW
YORK - A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Treasury
Department is violating the law by failing to design and
issue currency that is readily distinguishable to blind
and visually impaired people. (CNN) MORE:
American Council for the
Blind v. Sec'y of the Treasury |
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SCC rules
freelancers must ok online reproduction
OTTAWA
- The country's top court has ruled that newspapers and
magazines can't put freelance material into online
databases without the permission of the author. They
can, however, reproduce the articles in CD-ROM form.
(CP) JUDGMENT:
Robertson v. Thomason Corp.
2006 SCC 43 |
Medics sentenced to die in Libya HIV case
TRIPOLI - A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses
and a Palestinian doctor to death on Tuesday for
deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the
virus that causes AIDS, provoking a chorus of Western
condemnation. (Reuters)
PREVIOUS:
Libya
sentences nurses to death
HIV trial
in Libya |
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Elder order trial by boiling oil
NEW
DELHI - The leaders of a village in the Indian state of
Rajasthan ordered 150 men to dip their hands into
boiling oil to prove their innocence after food was
stolen from a local school, a newspaper reported on
Sunday. (Reuters) |
No free ride for car
thieves: ICBC
VICTORIA - The Insurance
Corp. of BC and the provincial government are about to
start going after car thieves for the entire cost of
theft claims, even on cases when there is no criminal
conviction. (CBC)
MORE:
It's payback time for car thieves |
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Verdict shocks experts
EDMONTON - Legal experts, stunned by Tuesday's
second-degree murder conviction of a 20-year-old woman
who killed her newborn baby, declared an appeal on the
grounds of "unreasonable verdict" a virtual
certainty. (Edmonton Journal) PREVIOUS:
Jury finds young mom
guilty of murder
'No! How
could they do it?' |
Mills v. McCartney: The leaked court
papers
LONDON - The
sentences are couched in the dry words of the divorce
lawyers but there is no mistaking the rawness - nor the
bitterness - of the McCartney split. (Daily
Mail) MORE:
Macca papers leaks could cost Heather
McCartney divorce case
test British press
Paul McCartney
Heather Mills |
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Deceased criminal's kids to
get payout
VANCOUVER -
The children of a career criminal who was killed in a
car accident will get some compensation for his death
even though "he was not a model father," the B.C. Court
of Appeal has ruled. (Vancouver Sun) |
Judges rules in favor of OJ
SANTA MONICA
-
After
ruling tentatively in favor of
O. J. Simpson,
a Santa Monica Superior Court judge on Tuesday took
under submission Fred Goldman's request to have the
former football star's right of publicity transferred to
him. (NBC4 TV) |
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Judge acquits OPG in Calabogie drownings
Ontario Power Generation was acquitted yesterday of
charges laid after a mother and child were killed while
swimming at a Calabogie-area dam. The judge's ruling
stems from a law that has since been changed. (Ottawa
Citizen) |
SCC: Convicts not
required to provide bodily fluid
OTTAWA
- Parliament will have to rewrite federal legislation
before judges can require convicted criminals to provide
samples of bodily fluids on demand, Canada's top court
ruled on Friday. (CTV) JUDGMENT:
R v. Shoker, 2006 SCC 44 |
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Man who confessed
walks free
EDMONTON -
The son of a woman whose accused killer confessed to her
murder lashed out at the justice system that
found him not guilty. (Edmonton Journal) PREVIOUS:
Judge lets admitted killer
off the hook |
Ontario first province to regulate
paralegals
TORONTO - Ontario has become the first province in
Canada to regulate paralegals, but critics say it
doesn't make sense to put lawyers in charge of their
competition. (CP) |
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Lawsuit pits Lethbridge
against Calgary
CALGARY -
Calgary's public school board has launched a lawsuit
against a neighbouring school division over claims it
poached schools from outside its borders, in a case that
could redefine what a school board is. (Calgary
Herald) |
Corrections supervisor files lawsuit over
firing
NANAIMO - A
Nanaimo corrections supervisor, disciplined and fired
after having relationships with two former inmates, has
filed a discrimination complaint with the B.C. Human
Rights Tribunal. (Vancouver Sun) |
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Criminal complaint charges
Chinese Surgeons of Complicity
BOSTON - A U.S.
attorney filed a criminal complaint against two Chinese
doctors attending a World Transplantation Congress (WTC)
conference in Boston Tuesday. The complaint accuses the
two of overseeing forced organ removal from living Falun
Gong prisoners of conscience in their hospitals.
(Epoch Times) PREVIOUS:
Chinese Organ Harvesting |
Atwal sues former
MP, Sun reporter and her employer
VANCOUVER - Jaspal Singh
Atwal, who was convicted of the attempted murder of a
Punjabi Cabinet Minister is accusing former MP Gurmant
Grewal, Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan, the Sun's
publisher and parent company Canwest Media Networks of
deliberately discrediting his reputation. (CKNW)
PREVIOUS:
Three
politicians helped failed assassin |
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Extradition refused in
Bedford pot case
MONTREAL - A
Quebec judge has shut the door on a US request to
extradite 11 residents of the Bedford area of the
Eastern Townships to face charges after a massive
marijuana bust there last year. (Gazette) |
Police unit assessing
judicial threats
VANCOUVER -
Threats against judges and court workers are on the
rise, says the top judge of the Provincial Court of
B.C. A special law-enforcement unit has worked for more
than a year to assess the threats. (Province) |
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Ottawa will fill judicial vacancies
ST. JOHN'S - Current federal
judicial vacancies will be filled, but Ottawa won't
create additional positions to alleviate a mounting case
backlog, federal
Justice Minister Vic
Toews said Monday.
(CP) |
Kids gone wrong
Teaching kids accountability
Lawyers with bad manners
target of new code
SCC judge want's lawyer's
fees lowered
Does Crime pay after all? |
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Soft-headed sentencing
WINNIPEG - Do you know
what you get these days for eight counts of armed
robbery and auto theft? About 41/2 years in prison.
Well, you don't really serve 54 months. (Sun
Media)
Judge
fails duty |
Decision is obscene
Its'
time to let punishment fit crime
This is getting tough on crime?
Take off the kid gloves
Lawyer wanted to be tried in 'lenient' Canada
Arrest in
case of pimping mom
4 years but he's free in
months |
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Assault charges thrown out
EDMONTON -
Assault charges against five remand centre guards were
thrown out Thursday in provincial court due to a legal
technicality. (Edmonton Journal) |
'Too gay' lawyer resigns from firm
VANCOUVER - A Vancouver lawyer who says he was harassed
by colleagues at his firm for being "slick and stylish"
and "too gay" has resigned. (The Province) |
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Apology
lightens sentence for slaying
EDMONTON
- A judge impressed with a killer's apology has sentenced
him to eight years and eight months in prison for killing
the man he found naked in bed with his estranged wife. (Edmonton Journal)
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Ecstasy
ruling enrages girl's family
MONTREAL
- A 17-year-old who sold ecstasy to Stevie Reilly, 13,
walked out of a youth court free yesterday after a judge
ruled he should not be jailed for his crime.
Stevie, a Rigaud girl, died in February after
taking the party drug.
(The Gazette)
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SCC:
Party hosts not liable for drunk guests
OTTAWA
- The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled unanimously that
party hosts cannot be held legally liable for letting
their guests drive home drunk.
(CTV)
Childs v. Desormeaux, 2006
SCC 18
Top court upholds breath sample
R. v.
Rhyason, 2007 SCC 39
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Bar owners and their responsibility
Golf course charged
Resort faces charges
Lawsuit launched against
bars
Nightclub sued
Drunk drivers winning court cases
National survey on impaired driving
SCC rejects 2 beer defence
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'What does the world do with
somebody truly dangerous?'
OTTAWA - In one of their
first and most significant encounters with
anti-terrorism laws, several Supreme Court of Canada
judges appeared reluctant yesterday to put the rights of
people accused of having al-Qaeda ties ahead of national
security concerns. (CanWest) PREVIOUS:
MacKay warns loss of right to hold suspects harmful
Supreme Court to ponder security
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Illegally held lawyer gets $10,100 award
VANCOUVER - The City of
Vancouver and the BC government must pay a well-known
lawyer $10,100 because police suspected him of plotting
to pie the prime minister. Cameron Ward won the civil
damages after he was illegally jailed and forced to
strip. (Vancouver Sun) PREVIOUS:
BC lawyer vindicated in Chretien pie plot
Strip searches not automatic: SCC
BC Correction Act Regulation Sections 11
& 12 Strip search |
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Appeals shelter war criminals
MONTREAL - More than
two years after the Supreme Court of Canada deemed
Leon Mugesera
a war criminal and
ordered him out of the country, the exiled ethnic Hutu
hard-liner is still living in Quebec. (CanWest)
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Accused Nazi war criminal lied to get in
'Beast of Bolzano'
another chance to stay
Convicted Nazi prison
guard loses appeal
Genocide
suspect 'laughed'
War
crimes suspect arraigned in Montreal court
Mounties
charge Rwandan with war crimes |
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Accused war criminal free to stay
Canada refuses to extradite
War Criminal
War crimes 'beyond control'
of accused
BC man not connected 'to war
crimes'
War criminal extradited
Canada extradites war criminal to Italy
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Hearing probes refugee
status
Mounties focus on war crimes
Saltspring 'Joe' wanted for
war crimes
RCMP war crimes and special investigations
Ex-Nazi guard arrives in Italy
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San Diego seeks to confiscate 'Little Italy' property
SAN DIEGO - The Alsco Laundry in San Diego's Little
Italy neighborhood has been cleaning linens for the
city's top hotels and restaurants for more than 50
years. (Fox)
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'This land is your land'
No--your land is their land
Castle Coalition
US Supreme Court: Cities can seize homes
Eminent domain: Big box bonanza
For Independence Day, US Supreme Court slams founders
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Judge
throws book at rioters
MONTREAL
- Bitch. Racist. Nazi. And one more for good measure: Eva
Braun. A Quebec Superior Court judge was hit by a
barrage of invective yesterday as a courtroom packed with
friends and family of seven Mohawk rioters she was sending
to jail erupted in insults and slurs. (Gazette)
PREVIOUS:
Spectators
shout down judge Deal
to end Kanesatake standoff
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Broken promises ok
TORONTO - It's official: Politicians can break campaign
promises with impunity. (G&M)
The Criminal Code defines fraud as a deliberate deception
resulting in a personal benefit. One could argue the lie
resulted in the benefit of the seat in the Legislature if
one was inclined to tilt at windmills. Then again,
reasonable people know our political leaders can't be
trusted.
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