Courts

The political storm over SNC-Lavalin has sparked important debate over alleged political interference in Canada's justice system and what to do about a huge Canadian company that could fail if convicted of foreign bribery. (CBC)

TORONTO - What a horrible waste of two young lives. Brilliant University of Toronto student Emma Leckey is dead and Rylan Balappa-Lawes, the young drunk driver who mowed her down, is sentenced to seven years in prison. (Toronto Sun)

Two years after a judge stayed a murder charge against Jamie Bacon, the Crown’s appeal got underway in a secret hearing before B.C.’s highest court on Monday. (The Province)

VANCOUVER - A lawyer for former Vancouver police Det. Jim Fisher has objected to a judge handing the veteran cop eight months in jail for a single “spontaneous” kiss of a vulnerable crime victim. (The Province)

VANCOUVER - The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and seven members have failed to have the province’s attempt to seize three of their clubhouses thrown out of court. (The Province)

NEW YORK - Several female members of an alleged New York-based sex cult, including Smallville actor Allison Mack, became dangerously thin after following near-starvation diets at the direction of the group’s leader, a 12-year veteran of the group testified on Monday. (Global News)

MELFORT, Sask. - Scott Thomas was sitting nearby in the courtroom Tuesday when a truck driver pleaded guilty to every charge against him in a highway crash that killed 16 people on a junior hockey bus and left 13 players forever scarred by the disaster. (CTV News)

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the unrelenting trailblazer for gender equality and the second-ever woman appointed to the high court, died Friday night. She was 87. (New York Post)

CALGARY - Double-murderer Edward Downey must serve a minimum 50 years behind bars for the slayings of a Calgary mom and her young daughter, a judge ruled Tuesday. Justice Beth Hughes agreed with Crown prosecutor Carla MacPhail that Downey’s conduct called for consecutive periods of parole ineligibility on two counts of first-degree murder. (Calgary Herald)

NEW YORK - Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles with U.S. President Donald Trump, was charged on Monday with what prosecutors said was an attempt to “shake down” Nike Inc for over $20 million. (Reuters)