Creating a Legal Storm
US Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, made his first major television appearance this week on 60 Minutes.
Previously he has severely restricted media access, especially in his court, citing his,
First Amendment right not to speak on the radio or television when I do not wish to do so.
In 2004, he even had […]
Fry That What?
The case of Mumia Abu Jamal, on death row in Pennsylvania for killing a white police officer in 1981, is raising some interesting issues surrounding jury selection.
The court found that the prosecution used two-thirds of its vetoes to deliberately remove persons of colour in a county that consisted primarily of minorities. The […]
Tasteless Tattoos
A recent online prank among bloggers has raised the issue of poking fun around sensitive issues such as the Holocaust.
Racial and ethnic humour abounds among comedians, though most prefer to poke fun only at the group(s) they identify with and belong to, as to do otherwise appears degenerating. But members of the in-group […]
Ageism, or discrimination in the workplace against seniors, is a well known issue in Western societies facing an older Baby Boomer population.
But the Times Online reports a case of age discrimination against a teenager.
Toronto lawyer Gary Wise says,
As mandatory retirement laws in the West fall by the wayside, will the practice of age-discrimination against the […]
Mark Evans, a former journalist for the National Post and technology blogger, reported on a libel suit launched by Toronto lawyer and political activist, Warren Kinsella.
The freedom of expression is protected under s. 2 of the Charter,
Fundamental freedoms […]
It’s possible, or at least NORTHCOM says so in a news release this month.
…Americans can be assured the U.S. military is ready and capable of responding to attacks within the United States.
But critics are questioning the legality of this,
The establishment of USNORTHCOM has helped blur the lines between police and the military. It is […]
The International Business Services (iBLS) did an excellent summary this week on Online Hate and the Law.
They explain how freedom of expression, though necessary to health democracies, do have some limits, as detailed below.
Thanks to Gary Wise of the Wise Law Blog for the heads up.
Opposition to gun control is typically associated with lobby groups such as the NRA, largely comprised of white Conservatives.
Some bloggers suggest that NRA even put out this publication, described as depicting
…people of Asian, Black and Latino descent as universally being illegal immigrants and criminals. In the graphic novel, one white family after another is shown […]
Levant on Anti-Homosexual Pastors
In an article in the National Post titled, Drug dealers get the benefit of the Charter, but not pastors accused of homophobia, Ezra Levant, founder of the Western Standard and currently with Maclean’s, criticizes Lori Andreachuk in Darren Lund
v. Stephen Boissoin and the Concerned Christians Coalition Inc. (2007),
…An even more terrifying […]
The new Supreme Court Case ruling, Bruker v. Marcovitz, has some interesting implications for Jewish family law.
The case was considered by The Lawyers Weekly to be the “most timely and topical” of all the appeals reviewed by the court last year.
Background
In Judaism, a couple can only get a divorce when the man […]
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Part of Steyn’s expressed tactics include spamming government officials, media, and other […]
When Areas of Law Intersect
The Re B.C. Motor Vehicle Act eluciated some interesting challenges in the intersection of different areas of law.
The court cited Joseph Eliot Magnet of the University of Ottawa,
The transposition of the administrative law principle to a constitutional context is problematic. In the administrative law cases, the issue of intent concerns […]
Common Law Presumptions
Due to the challenges inherent to absolute liability offences, the Supreme Court provided that regulatory offences would be presumed as strict liability.
In R v. Sault Ste. Marie, the city was charged with allowing refuge to be dumped into public water ways of Cannon Creek and Root River. This pollution would be contrary […]
Principles of Fundamental Justice
The proof requirement for these offences is beyond a reasonable doubt, without any additional fault element.
In R v. Pontes, the defendant was convicted of driving without a licence, without knowing that his licence had expired. Ignorance of the law in this case was no excluse, and he was held to a […]
One of the longest serving and most influential judges in Canadian history passed away recently. Chief Justice Antonio Lamer died at the age of 74.
He was most noted for his ruling over the Quebec Secession Reference, which concluded that the province could not unilaterally secede from Canada.
