The Art of the Self-Snitch: Rap Lyrics, Admissibility, and the Hearsay Rule
Gangsta Rap’s tendency to exaggerate criminal activity leads to issues of reliability. How truthful are these stories? Can we reliably take these lyrics as fact? In the context of prosecution, a key question arises: can rap lyrics be used to establish criminal liability notwithstanding the reliability issues from exaggeration?
The discussion focuses on when rap lyrics are admissible as evidence within the context of hearsay, and the balance between artistic expression and cr
Stay Away from the Grey: Rethinking How Courts Should Approach the Issue of Consent in Sports
As entertaining as sports can be, it comes as no surprise that the world of sports can be gruesome and violent. Of course, this toughness and violence can be ingrained in sports culture, but what complications arise when it intersects with criminal liability? This can lead to issues of balancing the violent nature of sports with criminal liability and the implications that may arise from it.
Victims’ Rights and Health Care Workers
Violence against health care workers has become an increasingly serious concern within Canada’s health care and criminal justice systems, a trend that has been exacerbated by the heightened pressures and public tensions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care professionals occupy a unique and essential role in society, delivering critical services in high-stress environments while routinely interacting with individuals experiencing fear, crisis, or emotional distre
Behind Closed Doors and Locked Phones? Navigating the Admissibility of Past Sexual History as Evidence in R v Kinamore
In a digital age where text messages and screenshots can sometimes speak to the case at hand, more so than testimony, R v Kinamore tests and challenges the extent to which digital interactions may be used as evidence when the content may be prejudicial. R v Kinamore dives into the unclear waters of evidentiary admissibility when assessing messages, sexual history—and, most importantly, the lack thereof, and whether such evidence should be placed before the trier of fact.
The Birth and Evolution of International Criminal Law
Born from the ashes of World War Two (“WW2”) in Nuremberg and Tokyo, International criminal law (“ICL”) is the body of law that holds individuals accountable for humanity’s most serious crimes. Too often reduced to headlines about geopolitics, tyrants, and war criminals, ICL is a landmark system that marked a turning point in the pursuit of universal justice by declaring some crimes so serious that they concern all of humanity and demand international cooperation.
