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 […]
Don’t believe the hype
Twenty years ago the classic Hip Hop group, Public Enemy, said in their hit song,
Some media is the whack
You believe it’s true, it blows me through the roof
Suckers, liars get me a shovel
Some writers I know are damn devils
For them I say don’t believe the hype
Yo Chuck, they must be on a […]
When “free speechers” publish letters by lawyers or put legal proceedings online, they themselves are attacking free speech by attempting to intimidate legal proceedings.
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 […]
The Ahenakew affair: a bad law, an opportunity missed
By Marjaleena Repo
The David Ahenakew Affair, after five years in the courts, has sprung back with full force after the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) voted to reinstate him as one its senators. The media have reacted with vehement disapproval as have Jewish organizations. The provincial […]
 We previously mentioned some of the articling reforms under consideration in Ontario.
The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) is holding a townhall meeting on the articling requirements of the licensing process.
Details below.
Although the OHRC decided not to hear the complaint against Maclean’s, they have issues a strong condemnation of Islamophobia in the media.
The Human Rights Code in Ontario covers:
(1) goods, services and facilities
(2) housing accommodation
(3) employment
(4) contracts
(5) membership in unions, trade and vocational associations
But the statement issued by the OHRC also said,
The different approaches in […]
The CBC is hosting a live open discussion with Dr. Michael Geist, law professor at the University of Ottawa and author of the Michael Geist blog.
An example of some of the issues raised include:
Are you legally responsible for the comments on your website?
What about defamation and libel on the net?
What are the laws and who […]
Honourable Associate Chief Judge Murray Sinclair speaks about his personal challenges while working in the criminal justice system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LoXRW8_R9o
by Kamila Pizon, UWO law
The American criminal justice system is unfairly biased against an accused, Canada’s most renowed criminal defence attorney told Western Law students during a recent lecture on the role of defence counsel in Canadian society.
Eddie Greenspan speaking at Western Law
Eddie Greenspan, who recently defended Conrad Black against mail fraud and obstruction […]
Should a person’s bona fide beliefs be used to extract confessions to crimes by the police?
Most would say no, it would violate Charter rights.
What about if the beliefs are not considered mainstream or acceptable, like Vodun, or one of its many derivatives found in the Caribbean?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHXJ7uhKsmM
In what is called the first sting of its kind […]
Gov. Spitzer of New York has proposed a state tax on drug dealers that would exempt from criminal prosecution.
An agreement of confidentiality would also be issued to the dealer,
…none of the information may be used against the dealer in any criminal proceeding [other than a tax crime] unless it has been obtained independently
New York […]
Four RCMP officers died in the tragic shootout in the Town of Mayerthorpe, Alberta, the greatest one-day loss in over 100 years.
On March 3, 2005, James Roszko retaliated to a property seizure for growing marijuana by firing on officers, killing Peter Schiemann, Anthony Gordon, Lionide Johnston, and Brock Myrol.
Tonight (Feb. 10, 2008), the CTV will […]
We often hear the expression “Kangaroo Court” in popular media. But it’s also used in law, all the way up to the Supreme Court of the U.S. Williams v. United States defined the concept of a Kangaroo Court as,
…where police take matters in their own hands, seize victims, beat and pound them until they confess, […]
Jon-Jo may know his law, but he certainly doesn’t know his infectious diseases.
That’s what this South African blogger is saying about the Justice in Barrie who has recently drawn fire for his ignorance on HIV.
Justice Jon-Jo Douglas said at a trial last November,
The HIV virus will live in a dried state for year after year […]
