Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
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At Robson Crim, Canada's criminal law blog , we are committed to legal education outside of the ivory tower. This space provides reflections on current issues in criminal law.
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
20h ago
By D Wark
Rules governing the use of evidence are critical components to ensuring the credibility and fairness of the trial process. In the criminal justice system, evidentiary rules are critical to ensuring that defence counsel can properly defend the accused. This is a fundamental principle of the criminal justice system. The case R v Sanderson highlights why credible forensic evidence and witness testimony are critical to upholding the integrity of the justice system. This case also highlights how unscrupulous tactics by the Crown can create the potential for miscarriages of justice. Robert ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
2w ago
by M. Yuel
Designed to strike a balance between individual liberty and public safety, administering bail is paramount in the State’s process of administering justice. As a response to the ongoing social concern of increasing rates of violent crime across Canada, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-48 which modifies the Criminal Code’s current bail regime to allegedly ameliorate public safety.[1] However, the cracks in our bail system and its operation call for more than a short-term “band-aid” solution.[2] This Bill is a temporary “tough on crime” approach that will furt ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
2w ago
by Lizzie Tough
Trigger Warning: This blog series discusses the injustices of criminalized queerness as a sexual offence in Canada. Some language and topics could be triggering for 2SLGBTQIA+ readers. This blog contains discussions on the meaning of “consensual” in the context of sexual offences.
A Brief History of Criminalized Queerness
Sexual diversity has existed since time immemorial, and, in the past, Canada has criminalized this trait. Anti-queer laws were imported to present-day Canada by European settlers in the early colonial days.[1] Until 1869, same-sex relationships were punis ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
3w ago
By A. Kwok
This entry is part two of a miniseries of blogs about the Symposium on the Proposal to Create an International Anti-Corruption Court. This blog will synopsize the third of six articles of the symposium, and provide a brief critical analysis. For a better understanding of the IACC, please refer to the previous blog: To Bring the World to Account: Introducing a System to Tackle International Corruption.
In September 2023, the Transnational Criminal Law Review published a journal symposium discussing the possibility of a judicial body targeting transnational corruption: the Inte ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
3w ago
Nancy Kirk and Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich
This blog post answers a riddle: what connects justice, neuroscience, and Winston Churchill? The answer is the international Restorative Justice 4 All Institute in the United Kingdom. The two of us, who are now collaborating on interdisciplinary research, first met in the Churchill Room at the London Houses of Parliament at the 10 year anniversary celebration of RJ4All at the UK Houses of Parliament in December 2023. Nancy is a graduate student studying neuroscience and a volunteer with RJ4All doing front line RJ work in East London. Rebecca is a lawyer ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
1M ago
This entry is part one of a miniseries of blogs about the Symposium on the Proposal to Create an International Anti-Corruption Court. This blog will provide background information behind the proposal for an anti-corruption court, synopsize the first three of six articles of the symposium, and provide a brief critical analysis.
A few months ago, the Transnational Criminal Law Review, published by the University of Windsor, released its first journal symposium discussing the possibility of ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
2M ago
By Colton Fehr*
Irwin Law’s “Essentials” series is deservedly among the most populous on bookshelves in Canadian law schools, libraries, and offices. While the series typically provides concise overviews of broad topics like criminal or constitutional law, it more recently has begun to include editions on particularly complex constitutional rights protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[i] Professors Robert Diab and Chris Hunt’s recent addition on the protection against unreasonable search and seizure provided in section 8 of the Charter falls into the lat ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
5M ago
Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich and Mark Bourrie
Maya Angelou said that “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story locked up inside you.” Medical and psychological research substantiates that telling our own stories can be beneficial to the mental health to those who tell and those who hear them. It is crucial for us to all be able to tell and own our truths. The watershed #METOO movement demonstrates the power of sharing stories, and the importance of hearing them to those who have been victimized and thought they were alone. Yet, as H.G. Watson notes in this article, too often Canadian ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
9M ago
Introduction
Section 708(1) of the Criminal Code states that “a person who, being required by law to attend or remain in attendance for the purpose of giving evidence, fails, without lawful excuse, to attend or remain in attendance accordingly is guilty of contempt of court.”[1] The Supreme Court of Canada (‘the SCC’) ruled in 1992 that “criminal contempt power should be used sparingly, with great restraint and only when required to protect the rule of law.”[2] As a result, criminal contempt charges have been historically rare,[3] although they have recently increased in frequency. Criminal co ..read more
Robson Crim Legal Blog | Canada's Criminal Law Blog
10M ago
It can be easy to underestimate the role which the law of evidence plays in the criminal justice system. One may think that evidence is a straightforward and simple matter; the facts are the facts, and the accused is guilty or not, plain and simple.
However, the law of evidence is anything but. Especially when potential wrongful convictions hang in the balance, the stakes could not be higher. The very recent decision of R v. Schneider is indicative of how complicated and significant the law of evidence can be.[1]
A DEAD BODY AND A PHONE CALL
Mr. William Victor Schneider was charged with second ..read more