Criminal Law/Policy
-
Faith and Acts
Is it permissible for an undercover police officer to pose as a religious adviser to induce a suspect to disclose information about a crime the officer is investigating? Not always, but sometimes it is, says the Court of Appeal for Ontario in a decision released last week, R. v. Welsh, 2013 ONCA 190. In that… Continue reading
-
Chilling Effect
I wrote a while ago about the case of Matthieu Bonin, a Québec blogger who was accused of incitement to hatred, after making some admittedly tasteless and idiotic statements which, nevertheless, didn’t amount to anything like hate propaganda. Fortunately, as La Presse reports, the charges against him have now been dropped. Yet they should never have… Continue reading
-
Can’t Compel
In “Law Like Love,” W.H. Auden wrote that “we can’t compel” love. He was right of course, and not only in the sense he meant. So holds―without reference to Auden―a decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, R. v. Hall, 2013 ONSC 834. At issue the constitutionality of the exclusion of common law spouses… Continue reading
-
Vive le Québec Libre!
Prosecutors in Québec seem to have forgotten that this is a free province in a free country. First, they came for a makeup artist whose gory videos, though involving no actual gore or violence whatsoever, were too realistic for their liking. And then, after a mere busybody concerned citizen complained, they came for a ranting blogger for, apparently,… Continue reading
-
That’s Right
A couple of blog posts published over the holidays seem to confirm that two Canadian appellate decisions about which I posted recently are right―not necessarily as a matter of law, about which the posts don’t tell us much―but at least as a matter of policy. I thought they’re worth pointing out. *** First, at Concurring… Continue reading
-
Facing Justice
In a decision delivered this morning, R. v. N.S., 2012 SCC 72, the Supreme Court has ruled that the rights of a witness who, for sincere religious reasons, wishes to testify with her face covered and those of an accused against whom she testifies must be balanced on a case-by-case basis, eschewing a bright-line rule, though suggesting that in… Continue reading
-
Anti-Terrorism Act Upheld
In a unanimous decision by the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court has today upheld the constitutionality of the anti-terrorism provisions of the Criminal Code, enacted after 9/11 as the Anti-Terrorism Act, S.C. 2001 c. 41. The case is R. v. Khawaja, 2012 SCC 69. In addition to constitutionality of the provisions in question Mr. Khawaja also raised issues relating… Continue reading
-
Mass Confusion
There is a long article in the New York Times about the increasing opposition to the use of exceedingly long prison sentences―often life imprisonment without parole―as punishment for all sorts of crimes, often not involving any violence, including drug-related offences, resulting in the phenomenon of “mass incarceration.” The article highlights the findings of social scientists… Continue reading
-
The Limits of Independence
I want to return to the Québec Bar’s challenge against the constitutionality of all the mandatory minimum sentences increased or created by Bill C-10, the “tough on crime” omnibus bill adopted by Parliament earlier this year, about which I blogged here earlier this week. One of the grounds of possible unconstitutionality which the Bar raises… Continue reading
Double Aspect 