We are proud to welcome Thomas Hunter to the lawfirm. Thomas is a third-year law student at Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law completing his four-month practice placement at the office.
Ontario's Social Distancing Laws
Social distancing is the only way that we are going to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. People are increasingly asking about what they can do outside, where they can go, and with whom they can travel. In this blog post, I look at Ontario’s law governing social distancing rules, the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
Welcome Andrew Domacina
Andrew Domacina joins the office as a placement student from Lakehead University.
Fool Me Once… Prior Consistent Statements
Testifying in court can be confusing. There are rules of evidence that prevent people from saying what many might think is important information. In this blog post, I discuss a development in a counter-intuitive testimonial rule, the inadmissibility of prior consistent statements.
This post is for everyone: people unfamiliar with the law, appeal lawyers, and evidence scholars. It’s a short discussion in which I look at a development and point out some cases in which the rule is applied. None of what I write is legal advice.
Canada's New Impaired Driving Laws
One topic discussed during holiday parties this year will be Canada’s new impaired driving laws. What are they? How do they affect motorists? What happens if you drink and drive? This blog post will answer some of these questions.
Sewrattan Law Award
Congratulations to Shivani Ramoutar, the recipient of the 2017 Sewrattan Law Award! The Sewrattan Law Award is given to the graduating student at West Hill Collegiate Institute with the highest mark in Grade 12 Law. Shivani demonstrated a keen interest in the law class and was an exceptional advocate at the 2017 OJEN Mock Trial Tournament.
Welcome Reyam!
We are proud to welcome Reyam Zager to the lawfirm. Reyam is a third year law student at Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law completing her four-month practice placement at the office.
Can You Hear Me Now? Conceptions of Privacy in Section 8
The Canadian Journal of Law and Technology recently published an article I wrote on the intersection of philosophy and privacy. The article was initially presented at the McGill Graduate Conference in Law – Legal Challenges in Cyberspace in Montréal, Canada.
R. v. Antic, 2017 SCC 27: The stakes are too high for anything less
R. v. Antic, 2017 SCC 27: The stakes are too high for anything less
The Supreme Court of Canada recently released R. v. Antic, 2017 SCC 27. The decision is poised to be a game changer for the law of bail in Canada. I was counsel for the Criminal Lawyers’ Association in this case along with John Norris. We asked the Supreme Court to tell bail courts that the default position for an accused person is their unconditional release, and beyond that the accused person should be released on the least restrictive conditions unless it is necessary to deny them bail. The Supreme Court accepted this submission.
Looking into the Future? The No Contest Plea
The latin “nolo contendere” translates to “I am unwilling to contest”. An accused who enters a plea of nolo contendere (also referred to as a “no contest plea” or “nolo plea”) declares to the court that he or she does not contest the charges against him or her.
Are you a law nerd who likes reading? Because in this blog post I discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the no contest plea by looking at the American plea bargaining system. At the end of the post, I explain briefly why a no contest plea cannot exist under the current state of Canadian law.
Since the blog post is lengthy, it is attached for download here.
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