Dynamic Entry: Preservation Over Protection
On March 13th, 2020, Breonna Taylor, was fatally shot in her apartment by members of the Louisville Metro Police Department, while they were executing a search warrant of her boyfriend’s apartment. Officers claimed that they announced themselves before gaining entry into the apartment, but this fact has been disputed by others around the scene at the time. This case has caused backlash in the United States around police conduct, as well as the issue around “no-knock warrants”
Police Error, Misconduct, & Bias: Preventing Wrongful Convictions Starts at the Investigatory Level
Wrongful convictions stand as a pillar of injustice in Canada’s society. Police misconduct, witness testimony, human error, and biases all contribute to the number of individuals that are incarcerated as a result of wrongful convictions. While efforts are being made to alleviate these contributing factors to wrongful convictions, one area of concern is still sanctioned by the government and not being addressed; Mr. Big Operations (MBO’s).
Cellphone Privacy & Warrantless Search & Seizure
“The fact that a suspect may be carrying their house key at the time they are arrested does not justify the police using that key to enter the suspect’s home. In the same way, seizing the key to the user’s digital life should not justify a wholesale intrusion into that realm.”
Indigenous Peoples & Wrongful Convictions: Preventing Overrepresentation in the CJS
Indigenous peoples are at a higher risk of wrongful convictions since there is an overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. This higher risk is not exaggerated in any sense, as Innocence at Stake displayed a statistic demonstrating that 25% of cases involving major crimes being investigated by Innocence Canada involved Indigenous persons. This number can be expected to increase, as federal incarceration rates for Indigenous persons have been incr
Mandatory Minimums: A Miscarriage of Justice
Are mandatory minimum sentences (MMS) benefiting offenders in the Canadian Criminal Justice System (CJS) or are they leading to miscarriages of justice? A significant array of scholarly articles and court cases lean towards mandatory minimums being a part of the downfall of the CJS. MMS are leading to a variety of miscarriages of justice by targeting Aboriginal offenders for specific offences, placing limits on the use of Criminal Code section 718.2 (e), leading to false plea
