The Justice System
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Right Answer Romantics
I was re-reading F.A. Hayek’s discussion of the common law in Chapters 4 and 5 of Rules and Order, the first volume of his Law, Legislation and Liberty, and was struck by something I had missed when I first read it four years ago while working on a thesis on common-law constitutionalism. When deciding a case… Continue reading
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A Question for the SCC
I wrote on Friday, in a post about A.B. v. Bragg Communications Inc., 2012 SCC 46, the Supreme Court’s recent decision allowing a victim of cyber-bullying to bring her defamation suit against the person responsible for it anonymously, that “the interesting question” about the decision is how far does its principle extend: In other words, is… Continue reading
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Moving the Earth
Last week, the Supreme Court issued an important judgment on the law of public interest standing. Although it might seem like a technical issue, the importance of standing, or locus standi, was already clear to Archimedes 2200 years ago, when he asserted that if given a place to stand, he would move the earth. Ok,… Continue reading
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There’s Nothing in That Name
This morning, the Supreme Court delivered a decision that is a further small step in the debate about the right of litigants to privacy and the right of the public to know what goes on in our courtrooms. I blogged about these issues here and here. The applicant in the case, A.B. v. Bragg Communications Inc., 2012 SCC 46, is… Continue reading
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What’s in a Name?
The CBC has a story about criticisms of Ontario’s rules which allow the publication of the parties’ names in family law court decisions. The availability of these decisions online, especially on CanLII, makes them widely accessible―and people are concerned about others learning the details of their divorces, their personal information, or even seeing allegations made… Continue reading
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The Forms and Limits of Persuasion
There was a very interesting piece by Maggie Koerth-Baker yesterday in New York Times magazine, about the ways in which we make up and change our minds. The immediate context to which it is directed is U.S. presidential campaign, in which both contenders (though especially Mitt Romney) have had some notorious “flip-flops.” But of course the… Continue reading
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Yes, Minister, But…
According to the Globe and Mail, the federal Justice minister, Rob Nicholson, was recently asked about the propriety of a hypothetical (actually, rumoured) appointment of a cabinet minister to the bench. The Globe reports that “[h]e said he did not believe that certain individuals should be ruled out as judges. ‘I’ve never gone out of… Continue reading
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The Only Thing Worse Than Being Talked About
Is being talked about in a court decision that’s available online for all to see. At least if you’ve sued a former employer, and are looking for a new job. At the Volokh Conspiracy, Eugene Volokh reports on a case in which a man who believes he lost employment opportunities because prospective employers found out… Continue reading
Double Aspect 