RSS FeedAccess to justice or abuse of legal aid?
Killer cop seeks funds for appeal
Peter Edwards writes:
A Toronto police officer who ran up a $1.2-million legal aid bill while on trial for his mistress’s murder is now seeking taxpayer funding to appeal his conviction.
Two charges dropped, two to go
Two charges dropped against shopkeeper
Jennifer Yang writes:
Kidnapping and weapons charges were dropped this morning against a shopkeeper who was arrested for detaining a suspected shoplifter.
Unique photos of Omar Khadr may be evidence of his innocence
Omar Khadr Omar Khadr ‘innocent’ in death of U.S. soldier
Michelle Shephard writes for the Toronto Star:
Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr was buried face down under rubble, blinded by shrapnel and crippled, at the time the Pentagon alleges he threw a grenade that fatally wounded a U.S. soldier, according to classified photographs and defence documents obtained by the Star.
Citizen’s arrest
It’s one of the cases that gets ordinary people all riled up. A chronic criminal, Anthony Bennett, who some say stole from Chinatown stores for years finally got caught. A hard-working store owner, Mr. Chen, aided by two associates, witnessed a theft, confronted the culprit an hour later and then caught him, tied his hands, put him in a truck and called the police. And what do the cops end up doing? They charge Mr. Chen with assault, kidnapping, unlawful confinement, and carrying concealed weapons. The last charge is for having a box cutter.
But the cops had a lawful reason to arrest Mr. Chen. If citizens see crime in progress on their property, they can catch criminals. But Mr. Chen went after Mr. Bennett an hour after the theft. Mr. Chen and his two associates chased Mr. Bennett. It’s not clear where they caught up with him and locked him in a truck, but some running down the street was involved. Some punching is alleged. Apparently, Mr. Chen exceeded his powers of citizen’s arrest. That’s why his lawyer, Peter Lindsay, wants to challenge Canada’s citizen’s arrest laws.
Mr. Lindsay says the law “should be changed to allow private citizens to arrest people they suspect committed or will commit a crime.” So he wants citizens to have the power to arrest not only for crimes they see but also for crimes they suspect happened or even will happen.
Mr. Lindsay’s idea is unbalanced. Private citizens aren’t trained to recognize crimes or criminals. They aren’t trained safe arrest techniques. They don’t have proper custody space. Untrained people can harm someone. We can end up with even more arrests of innocent people than we have now. Kidnappers may have an easier time imitating citizen’s arrests. And the vigilantism that Mr. Lindsay’s idea can unleash is scary. The risks are just too high. And slow police response and endemic theft do not outweigh them.
The existing citizen’s arrest powers are sufficient. The crimes we are talking about are usually minor, and we don’t want ordinary people to arrest serious criminals anyway. Besides, other means exist to deter minor crime. The Chinatown business improvement area may find it less expensive to hire security guards (as it did before) than deal with civil claims by innocent arrest victims. And if the thief is really persistent, why not stake him out and do a proper citizen’s arrest on your property? All the video cameras will help with evidence if the police question the arrest’s legality.
Although Mr. Chen and other store owners in the area deserve our sympathy, Mr. Lindsay’s idea goes too far. The Crown should exercise its discretion and drop the charges against Mr. Chen. He has already paid a price for whatever indiscretion he committed. This should be a lesson for the police, for the business improvement area, and for the social services. But this story should not be a reason to expand citizen’s arrest powers. The benefits will not justify the risks.
Melissa Todorovic’s boyfriend to be sentenced
Crown seeks life for man who killed Rengel
He pleaded guilty in April to first-degree murder, saying he killed Rengel on New Year’s Day 2008 to appease his jealous girlfriend.
Mapping Homicides in the GTA
Remember our discussion about crime rates in “Scarlem” early last year?
The Toronto Star released an interactive map that plots all the homicides, not just in Scarborough, but across the GTA. The stats can be broken down by year (to 2005), age, gender, and type (shooting or otherwise).
Toronto bomb plotter sentenced
Toronto 18 member gets 14-year sentence
A Mississauga man who confessed to being part of a homegrown terror plot aimed at blowing up buildings in downtown Toronto was sentenced today to 14 years, with credit given for pre-trial custody he was ordered to serve an additional seven years behind bars.
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Today the dramatic and costly case against the Toronto drug squad officers see-saws yet again when prosecutors try to revive charges thrown out by a judge in 2008. The charges were tossed because the Crown took too long to bring the case to trial.
The fight begins
Len Edwards, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, insisted yesterday that standing up for the rights of citizens abroad was “a rule” and “a work ethic” within the department.
Full disclosure
Released Canadian’s lawyer clamouring for client’s case file
He added he fears that Ms. Mohamud is the victim of a “whisper campaign” from federal officials who are leaking unverified claims to the news media.
“My client is being defamed, and they can clear it all up by giving me the file,” Mr. Boulakia said.
The government refused to comment on the matter yesterday, saying it is waiting for an internal report on the events.
Suaad Mohamud
She is back in Canada now. Here are all our posts and essays on her trials and tribulations.
Exclusive interview with Suaad Mohamud in Nairobi
Video (Toronto Star)
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