The polygamy battle goes on
B.C. pops the question: Is polygamy a crime? Dirk Meissner writes: Canadians and the justice system need clarity on whether polygamy is a crime, British Columbia’s attorney general said Thursday in announcing he will ask…
Civil Rights
Government makes a submission in the prostitution case
Prostitution laws not irrational, lawyer argues Tracey Tyler writes for the Toronto Star: Just because prostitution is illegal in public and commercial venues in Canada but not in hotel rooms and homes doesn’t mean the…
Another evidence flop in a security certificate case
Judge orders CSIS to hand over file Bill Curry writes for the Globe: The Federal Court is ordering Canada’s spy agency to disclose a second human source in the Mohamed Harket case, an exceptional decision…
Attn CSIS: American Airlines Flight 93 Doesn’t Exist
Justice Tremblay-Lamer of the Federal Court has quashed the controversial case against Adil Charkaoui, the alleged terrorist detained on a security certificate. In his 2004 case before the Federal Court, the government made submissions that…
OMG! Law Talk Episode 2
Law Blawgers Omar Ha-Redeye, Michael Carabash and Garry J. Wise return with Episode 2 of OMG! Law Talk. THIS WEEK ON OMG! – ·Google Juice ·Law Firm Public Relations Strategies ·Getting Legal Information Online ·Blogging…
Reconsidering Columbus Day
It’s turkey day in Canada. But for our American neighbours, it’s Columbus Day, which commemorates the arrival of Columbus to the Americas on October 12, 1492. Many Americans don’t see this as reason to celebrate….
Withler We Go From Here: The Future of Pension Reform
Western Law hosted a forum on pension reform this past Thursday, featuring community leaders, legal academics, and practitioners. Pension Plan Basics Prof. Robert Brown of the University of Waterloo explained some of the basics behind…
Prostitution laws challenged in court
Sex workers set to launch landmark challenge Tracey Tyler writes for the Toronto Star: “The one thing I can tell you from looking at this, both as an academic and as a person constructing a…
Policing Twitter
The New York Times reports that an American man has been arrested and charged with “hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility and possession of instruments of crime.†Pennsylvania State Police are…
Vancouver 2010 and Civil Liberties
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and Pivot Legal Society are looking for volunteers for Legal Observer teams during the Olympics. They’ll be having training sessions (in fact, their training manual is already online (PDF)):…
Try again?
Third security certificate is double jeopardy, court told Mahmoud Jaballah was first detained under a security certificate in 1999. He was released after the courts found the certificate to be unreasonable. Jaballah was re-arrested in…
AG Ont. Chris Bentley Speaks on Human Rights
The Attorney-General of Ontario, Hon. Chris Bentley, spoke to students at the University of Toronto on the issue of human rights. Min. Bentley did a podcast interview with us previously on a similar subject.  Human…