INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: GREATER POWER ; ACCESS TO RESOURCES MUST BE BALANCED WITH GREATER RESPONSIBILITY AND INSPECTION OF PUBLIC LAWYERS SUCH AS PROSECUTORS Introduction  What is the proper scope of state power…
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) recently launched a website entitled LawFacts which is designed to provide information about the criminal justice system to people in Ontario.
In the recent Supreme Court of Canada (“SCCâ€) decision in R. v. Topp, 2011 SCC 43 the Crown attempted to do the impossible and get blood from a stone. The metaphorical stone in this case…
Here’s a digest of some articles I collected this week that are either funny, interesting, or just plain weird. Blind Justice? Attractive Get Breaks with Juries – CBS News In completely unsurprising study results, Cornell…
While I really should be studying for the bar exam right now, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to share a great article appearing in the current issue of Canadian Lawyer 4Students Magazine. The…
Last week a 28-year-old man stole two computer batteries from a Florida Staples, then returned to the store, reported his crime to the store manager and demanded that police be called. He told employees that…
The March 8th 2010 issue of Maclean’s, “Canada’s magazineâ€, has this to say about the Conservative government’s elimination of two-for-one credit for pre-sentence custody: Do the time “It seems like a no-brainer: convicted criminals shouldn’t…
Newsflash – the Ontario Government is looking for outstanding members of the public to sit on 27 separate police services boards throughout the province. Criminal defence lawyers need not apply. What? Did I read that…
What’s it like to live on Death Row? What’s it like to die there? I wonder how a person can  stand to wait in a small cell, watching the second hand of a clock tick…
Derek Twyman (a Canadian citizen) has spent two decades in North Carolinian prisons, and is slated to be released on parole in the year 2055 – when he is approximately 90-years-old. His crimes? A series of non-violent burglaries. The law has since changed, but Derek remains incarcerated to this day.
After years of neglect, the Legal Aid system in Ontario has been scheduled for an overhaul. On Tuesday, Attorney General Chris Bentley will announce $150 million in new funding for Legal Aid, as well as…
Moin A. Yahya, Associate Professor of Law at U. Alberta has posted a couple of interesting videos on why criminal suspects should never talk to the police. Most experienced defence lawyers will tell you that…
