The NCRMD Defence
A judgment of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCRMD”) is strictly concerned with the mental state of the accused at the time of the offense. Unfortunately, although the individual’s mental state may improve after the offense, the stigma of the NCRMD judgment can follow them for the remainder of their lives.
A Tale of Two Traffickers
The average person likely can relate to feeling bewildered when an accused who is unequivocally guilty of having committed a crime (in the sense that it is accepted fact – even by the accused – that an accused has committed a crime) is able, on the basis of some legal technicality or by the exploitation of some loophole, to escape responsibility for their actions. To the untrained eye, the justice system can seem anything but just at times when criminals are allowed to walk f
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit Against Arbitrary Detention
When can the police stop you from your day-to-day activities and subject you to detention? If this occurs, what type of search can you be subjected to? How have new drugs and Covid-19 impacted your ability to remain free from arbitrary detention? In this BLAWG, I will provide an analysis to these questions by using research conducted from the book Privacy in Peril (2019) and online media sources. I will also extend an opinion from the Supreme Court of Canada (“the Court”).
Sentencing an Abused Abuser
R v SADF (“SADF”) is a disturbing case that involves the sexual assault of children aged six and eight. (1) While the facts of the case are grim, and reading the decision can be difficult, there is an important discussion regarding sentencing and how two courts came to different conclusions on the same facts.
Understanding Review: How Manitoba Appellate Courts Review Charter Challenges
On October 30, 2019, Russel Charles Farley was convicted at trial in the Provincial Court of Manitoba (“MBPC”) of “operating a motor vehicle having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the concentration in his blood exceeded eighty milligrams of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of blood”. Mr. Farley argued at trial that his rights under sections 8 and 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“the Charter”) were infringed by the actions of the police officer
