Limiting Privacy in the Digital Age
Your phone knows you better than you know yourself. In the digital age, technology has become integral to everyday life. Personal electronic devices like phones and computers hold a vast amount of information, which means they may hold a wealth of evidence. Technology is becoming an increasing source of condemning evidence in the criminal sphere, which raises concerns about how that evidence is obtained.
Racialized or Randomized?: Race Shield Legislation Admissibility & Character Evidence
According to David Tanovich, “the collateral effects of over-incarceration and constant surveillance [i.e.: racial profiling] on racialized communities are enormous”. Canadian criminal justice institutions are racially biased. Racial bias creates preconceived character evidence that is attributable to individual members of that race. For example, minority groups report disproportionally high incidents of racial profiling.
Expansion of Police Powers
In Richard Jochelson, Kirsten Kramar, and Mark Doerksen’s upcoming book, “The Disappearance of Criminal Law”, the three co-authors engage in a discussion of how the law has developed in a way that broadens discretionary powers for police. Over the past few decades, various decisions from the Supreme Court of Canada (“the Court”) have played a substantive role in the gradual disappearance of criminal law and entry into a society where threats are policed more than actual harms
Courts Left to Decide Inconsistent Jury Verdicts
On March 12, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (“the Court”) delivered a judgement that established a defined framework regarding the appropriate steps that should be taken by appellate courts in the event that the verdicts for charges are inconsistent. In light of this recent clarification, I will provide an overview of the court proceedings for this case and further discuss aspects of this decision that could be deemed problematic.
Developments in Dangerous Driving
Mr. Chung was charged with dangerous driving causing death under section 249(4) of the Criminal Code (“the Code”). Before addressing the decision, I will discuss the development of the modified objective test in dangerous driving case law and how it impacted the decision in the case of R v Chung (“Chung”).
